A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile
by Twilight-Traveler
Summary: Four high school girls have been sent to Central to train under elite State Alchemists to learn about Military, Alchemy, and anything else. However, there are bigger events at play, and the girls have been swept up in it. Rated M for some sexual scenes.
1. Chapter 1

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 1

"Welcome back, Führer. How was your visit to Dublith?"

"It was quite interesting." The Führer said, sitting down at the head of the table. He let his one eye look at all the faces in front of him. They were all his advisors, all of them about as old as he was, some older. Their best years were behind them, and they wanted immortal life to continue living their pitiful lives. How pathetic. They were so weak willed…"I met with the Elric brothers' teacher. She certainly was something."

"She!" one of his cabinet members exclaimed. The rest of them murmured under their breath. A female alchemist? Unheard of! Well, it wasn't unheard of, but it certainly was rare.

"I tried to convince her to be a State Alchemist, but she would have none of it."

Another oddity. Females in the military were rare. Female State Alchemists had never even been considered. Even though women were becoming more independent, not many people expected them to join the military. Not one female ever took the State Alchemist test, and there was an unwritten rule that females would not be allowed to be State Alchemists. Not many people wanted women to become State Alchemists anyways, especially after what the State Alchemists did in Ishval. It was bad enough that a woman sniper was there, participating the bloodshed. For a woman to do what those men did…

"And she got me thinking…imagine how powerful a woman can be. You all have mothers and wives, I'm sure you know of what they can do. I don't have a mother, but I'm sure that those of you who have mothers vividly remember them slinging you over their knee as if you were nothing compared to them, even when you were adults."

They nodded.

"And wives can be the same. Why, my wife once jumped in front of a car to protect my child." Not that it meant anything, since his 'son' could take care of himself and slice the car in two if he wished. "If a woman like that joined the military, she would be a force unlike anything we have ever seen. But the woman I met was too old. She had made up her mind years ago about where she stood and nothing in this world would change that. But what if we tried to get high school girls in on our philosophy? High school students don't know where they stand in life, and most are willing to learn about new things. This is my idea: We assign some students to State Alchemists. They'll teach them about the military and Alchemy. They'll be able to mold them into their image. They'd be a fighting force to be reasoned with. We'll have some new candidates for sacrifice as well."

The cabinet nodded, finding that the idea he presented was a good one. Then again, if they disagreed, they wouldn't bring it up. Getting on Bradley's bad side would mean that he would release his wrath upon them. Literally. "There was an international essay about what students would do in the military." One of the men spoke up, all eyes turning to him. "I'm sure that we can find out who the winners were at each school and—"

"I'll look through them myself."

"Führer?"

"They judge on the quality of writing, not what the message is. That's what I'll judge by. I'll see which of these girls have the right mind sight to be in the Alchemy Academy."

/

There was a form going around the State Alchemists. Roy Mustang looked at the sheet. "To all State Alchemists," Mustang read out loud for his subordinates. They all looked at him with interest, listening quietly. "Führer King Bradley has announced a plan to help integrate Alchemy in the daily lives of civilians. A handful of high school girls across the country will be assigned to State Alchemists. The State Alchemist will need to teach them the basics of Alchemy, military life, and any other abilities that the assigned State Alchemist knows. If you wish to participate in The Alchemy Academy, please sign below."

"Well…" Mustang said, putting the paper down. "What do you make of this?"

The subordinates exchanged looks. "Do you think it's a good idea, sir?" Kain Fuery asked.

Mustang put his elbows on his desk, linking his fingers together. "I don't know. Something doesn't really seem right about this. However…" he took out his pen and signed his name, drawing a small flame at the end. He handed the paper to Hawkeye, "I can't figure anything out just by this letter. If something is being planned, I'll have to figure it out on my own."

"You sure that you didn't just want to be in the company of a high school girl, sir?" Hawkeye said nonchalantly, her face still the same.

Mustang flinched and froze. "Uh…"

Havoc chuckled, blowing some smoke out of his mouth. "That's a yes."

/

"What the hell is this?"

"Geez, Ed, what are you yelling about?" Winry came into the bedroom, a wrench in her hand. She was busy making an automail leg for someone when she heard Edward's cry from upstairs. She found him clutching a letter tightly.

"Someone wants brother to teach Alchemy." Alphonse said, turning his head to Winry.

"Teaching? That doesn't sound so bad." Certainly not bad enough to warrant a yell like that from Edward.

"I'm teaching some snot-nosed, preppy, PMSing, high school girl!"

"And what's wrong with being a high school girl?" Winry said, crossing her arms. "In case you forgot, Edward, I'm in high school too." Well, she was supposed to be. She spent most of her time at home, working on automail. And then she got a job at Rush Valley and hadn't bothered to enroll in High School.

"Exactly! They're hormonal, wrench-wielding automail otakus!" Edward yelled, adding the last two to make the attack personal.

Winry's blood boiled and she swung her wrench, aiming for his large head. Edward ducked under the wrench and ran out the door. Winry threw a couple curses at him as he ran off. She glared at him for a while longer, than relaxed her shoulders, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry Winry…" Alphonse apologized, embarrassed by his brother's actions.

"No, no…It's alright…He's just so impossible sometimes…" she noticed the wrinkled letter on the floor. She looked it for a couple of seconds, a smile slowly curving onto her face. "Hey Al?"

"Hmm?"

"You can mimic Ed's handwriting, right?"

"Uh…Yeah. Kind of. Why do you ask?"

Winry picked up the letter and turned to Al, a large cat-like smile on her lips.

Alphonse looked at her for a couple of seconds. "Wait! You want me to—No!"

"Comeon, Al. It's just a joke. Besides, Ed needs to get off his ten foot tall horse."

"I don't think that's a good reason—!"

"Comeon! Wouldn't it be cool to teach somebody Alchemy? You could really make a difference in the life of someone! I know that you both suffered because of Alchemy, but I know that every time you draw a Transmutation Circle or clap your hands, your eyes light up, excited to be doing Alchemy. Wouldn't you want someone else to feel that way?"

"Well…Alright." Alphonse took a pen and signed Edward's name. "But just this once."

"That's all I ask for, Alphonse. That's all I ask for…"

/

Armstrong stared at the letter on his desk. He had just come back to Central after his trip in Dublith, that is, if it could be called a trip. He spent most of the time he was down massacring people, mutated people though they may be. He felt sick. It was almost like another Ishval, though smaller…

And here in front of him was a letter asking him if he would like to educate high school girls in the ways of the military. Who would want to join such a place where bloodshed follows every step they take, especially a girl?

Then again…if he could teach someone about the true meanings of the military, they could help fight to make the military a more noble place.

Besides, it would give him a reason to teach THE ARMSTRONG ALCHEMY THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE LINE FOR GENERATIONS!

/

"Sir?"

"Hmm?" he looked up. "Eva Vora, right?"

She nodded. "I'm here to see the essay results. There was an announcement saying to come here."

"Ah. Right. One moment please." He brought out a large file box and sorted the papers slowly, humming.

Eva sighed, tying her brown hair into a ponytail. Her hair barely fell past her shoulders, but she still didn't want it blowing in her face. She anxiously shifted from one foot to the other and even took to hopping a bit as she waited. She had too much energy, and it wasn't suited for standing around waiting.

Eventually, he found the paper, handing it to her.

"Thank you!" she said and hurried out, not wanting waste a moment.

Eva ripped the seal off the envelope and opened it. She looked at it and then ripped the paper into numerous pieces, throwing them onto the ground. It's amazing how many words can be used to say 'Your essay sucked, please never write again'. Alright, the last part was mostly made up, but it was implied at the very least.

She sighed, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She wasn't used to writing essays. They were boring! She loved books, most under the fantasy genre. She wasn't good with the real life stuff that essays focused on. She absently kicked a stone with her boot. At least she liked the purpose of the essay. She was always fascinated with Alchemy ever since she read a book where the protagonist was an Alchemist. She also wanted to catch criminals, but that was for her own reason.

She headed home, grabbing the mail out of the mailbox. "I got the mail!" she yelled, receiving a confirming yell deep within the house. She absently sorted through the mail. "Bills, bills, bills, coupon, college, college, military, bills—" she froze and went back to military letter. It was addressed to her. She opened up the letter and started reading.

"No way…"

/

"Ms. Anjyl?"

"Hmm?" Namori turned to the principle. Her face was curious for a second before she noticed the envelope in his hand. Her face lit up. "Oh! You have some mail for me!" a large smile was on her face at the thought of mail.

He smiled a bit at her involuntarily. He had to admit, the thought of admitting an Ishvalan into the school, albeit only part. However, she was one of the sweetest people that you could ever meet. Whenever she smiled, you felt as if you had to smile. It was impossible to deny. As one of the students commented, she tasted like diabetes. Sickingly sweet. It was too bad that she didn't have a real place to stay. All of her mail had to come in through the school. He handed her a sealed envelope, her mail inside unopened.

She smiled and took the envelope, hugging it against her chest. "Thank you!" she left the school, putting on mirrored sunglasses to hide her dull red eyes. She walked back to her home, humming a song that somebody was playing when she headed to school. A wind blew, throwing her brown and red hair into disarray. She quickly ducked into an alley, fixing her hair. She straightened her short black skirt and pulled down her white tank top. She reached into her bag and pulled out a black sweater-jacket, pulling it over her brown arms. She tied the loose fabric into a knot, playing with the ends until they were exactly the same length. Confident in her appearance once again, she continued walking.

She went into the outskirts of the city and climbed the hill that led into the slums. She stopped walking at the top of the hill and pulled off her sunglasses. If she looked hard enough, she could see Ishval in the distance, a brown ribbon in the distance. She stared out onto the field, trying to recall some memories of that desert she once called home. She was only three when the Ishval Civil War started, so she didn't have any memories about that. For eight years, she was surrounded by war. She and a couple other families managed to escape as the State Alchemists joined the war. Even though she was older then, she still could barely remember what happened. Almost every memory she recalled were ones where she and some other village children played in destroyed homes. People said that she was an angel, so she couldn't remember any bad things. She was simply too innocent. Naomi wasn't so sure though. It seemed too unrealistic.

After staring out for a while, she started down into the slums. She walked through the slum, saying hello to everyone she knew and having conversations with people she didn't know. After much talk, she walked into a small stone building that was her home, pulling the red rug that hung over the door out of the way. She sat down on her stick and straw bed and took out her mail. She flipped through some of the envelopes and paused when she found a letter from the military. She slowly opened up the letter, hands shaking a bit, her mind subconsciously telling her that military=bad things. It wasn't that hard for her to know. She grew up when Ishval was enveloped in war. She couldn't recall many memories, but as she tore the envelope, she could feel her body being pressed into a cart, surrounded by her friends as an explosion rattled the town and screams filled the air. She read the letter inside.

"No way…"

/

"Ms. Wiesel? Please stop stabbing the paper."

Kaitlin sighed. "Sorry sir…I just—I can't do this right." The young girl rested her chin on the table, her thin red lips fixed in a pout.

The teacher looked at her. Her grayish green eyes were dulled, though there was a slight spark of annoyance in there. The teacher comfortingly patted Kaitlin's short, brown hair. Kaitlin waved her hand away and straightened up, playing with the black ends of her hair. "Katie?"

"What?" she snapped.

"You're a good drawer." The teacher replied, his voice still sympathetic.

"No I'm not." She pouted again.

"You're not perfect, that's true. But you don't need to be."

She looked up at him, and the teacher was able to see the blue in her eyes. He marveled at how many colors were in her eyes. If someone were to do a portrait, they could spend hours on her eyes. He mentally shook his head, clearing those thoughts before they got any worse.

"I'm a perfectionist;" she said, her voice indicating that this speech had been told many times before, "everything has to be perfect to me. If I don't get it right, it'll annoy me to death."

"You're not as bad as you think." He sat down next to her. "Mind if I help you?"

"Not really." A bit, actually. He seemed a bit too friendly to her. She supposed that she had a 'cute' or 'moe' look. Then again, she didn't really consider all the freckles on her face that cute, and she was a bit short, and have stick limbs, and a bit flat…But she wanted to learn about art, so she would deal with his subtle—or not so subtle in many cases—flirting. It was worth it though. She wanted to learn more about drawing. She would do anything to improve her art.

Afterwards, Kaitlin hurried home. That took longer than she thought. She hoped she wasn't late. She ran through the streets easily, weaving in-between cars. She grew up in a city, and she knew her way around. It helped that her legs—twiggy they may be—were made for running quickly. She soon found her way to the apartment, quickly unlocking the door and running up the steps. "Sorry I'm late! I got held up in class!" she yelled, closing and locking the door behind her. She went into her room and fed her Rabbit-Who-Does-Not-Have-A-Consistent-Name. She sat down at her desk and was about to get started on her work when she noticed a fancy looking letter sitting on her desk. She picked it up and her eyes widened. This was nice paper. Only the military could have nice paper. She opened it up and read what was inside.

"No way…"

/

"Mia…Miiiiiiiaaaa…"

Mia was engrossed in her drawing, working on the details. The world was blocked out. All there was in the world was her, the pencil in her hand, the couch she sat on, and the sketchbook in her hand. There was nothing else. No sound, no people, nobody. Her brother's voice fell on empty ears. He looked at his little sister. He sighed and pushed his glasses further up, clearing his throat. He leaned over the couch, a couple inches from her ear. "MIA!" he yelled. Mia squealed and jumped, her pencil darting across the page. Her brother laughed a bit, jumping over the couch to sit next to her.

She frowned, looking at her sketch. She turned to her brother, showing him the long line across the page. "You ruined it."

"Sorry, Mia." He petted her head, earning a purr from her.

Mia eventually pulled her head away from him. "So, why did you ruin my drawing, nii-nii?" she asked, erasing the mark. Nii-nii was her way of saying 'big brother', taken from the Southern Xingese word nii-san. Mia and her nii-nii were both part Xingese, located in the southern end of the country, next to the ocean. While her nii-nii displayed many signs of their heritage, particularly in skin tone, Mia was pale white. Only her small, half closed eyes betrayed her heritage, and even then, it wasn't much.

"Two things." He said, holding up his fingers. "One. Dad is nagging me to nag you about colleges." He allowed Mia to groan for a couple of seconds before continuing. "And you got this in the mail." He held up a letter. It only took Mia a couple seconds to realize that the letter was from the military. "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I did something?"

"Why else would the military want you?"

She stuck out her tongue. "Give me that." Mia snatched the letter out of his hands, ripping the envelope. She read the letter, her brother reading over her shoulder.

"No way…"

"Yeah, why would anyone want you to join an Alchemy School? You'd just fall asleep while they were talking."

"Oh, shut up."


	2. Chapter 2

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part Two

"Seth, please stop hugging me."

"I can't help it! My little sis…going off to Central…I'm so proud of you Mia!"

"I'm going to miss my train…" she tried walking faster, but her brother's grip was too strong. It helped that he was very tall compared to her. Of course, she was only 5'2". Everyone was taller than her.

"You'll get there."

"I have five minutes."

"You'll get there."

She sighed, dragging her brother behind her. She'd already said goodbye to her mom and dad, though Seth insisted on escorting her to the train. Mia should've guessed that it was really an opportunity for an extended hug. He begged for hugs at home all the time. She was leaving, so there would be no hugging opportunity. He was covering for the year she'd be gone. "You'll have to let me go sooner or later!"

"No I don't. You'll have to take me with you."

"Only one ticket, nii-nii. You'll have to let me go sooner or later."

"No I don't."

"Seth…" Mia and her brother looked up as a garbled voice filled the air, saying that the train to Central will be leaving shortly. "Alright, now I really have to go!" she pulled out of his arms and ran over to the train, throwing her suitcases on board. She tossed her ticket up with them, and a worker at the top of the steps grabbed them, taking the suitcases over to her spot. Mia was about to follow, but Seth grabbed her arm. "Seth—!"

He pulled out something from his pocket. "I just want to give this to you." He handed her a knife. Her eyes widened as he placed it in her hand. The sheath was very ornate, the body a light green. Light gold lines curved around the hilt. She griped the black handle and slipped the blade out just an inch. Light reflected off of the clean blade. The sheath might have been just for show, but the blade was real. Seth smiled as he saw his sister's eyes light up. She was always a knife nut. "You like that?"

"It's awesome…But wait, this is yours. I was there when you bought this. It cost you all of your allowance…"

"I know."

"So why are you giving it to me?"

He shrugged and smiled at her.

She smiled back and hugged him tightly. "Thanks, nii-nii…"

He smiled. "Alright, stop, you're going to miss your train." He kissed her forehead, causing her to smile widely. "I'll miss you, Mia…"

"Yeah…" she eventually pulled away and hopped on the train as the whistle sounded.

"Write every day!"

"I will!"

The train slowly started chugging, and Seth started to run.

"Don't get in any trouble!"

"I'll try not to!"

The train went faster, Mia's long hair blowing into her face.

"And watch one of those movies while you're in Central!"

"Alright nii-nii!"

"Odd…" the man who took Mia's luggage into the train commented. "He didn't even say 'I love you'…"

"He's my brother," Mia said, touching her forehead, "he doesn't have to say it."

/

Kaitlin was excited. No, she wasn't just excited, she was _ecstatic_ about going to Central. It wasn't just the fact that she was going to _Central_, it was the fact that it was going to be her school. And not just her _school_, she would be learning from Alchemists. And not just _Alchemists_, but State Alchemists acknowledged by the military.

She was so excited, she felt that every other word had to be _emphasized_ with _italics._

Her entire family came to see her, which was extremely odd. Her parents were divorced, and her father brought his girlfriend along which was bound to cause some sparks (surprisingly not though), her sisters lived in other cities, and communication wasn't that frequent. Suddenly, everyone was there showering her with thanks, some little gifts were given as well. She felt that the letter made her queen, not a student.

"You know, I'm not going to Xing, never to return or something like that. I'm just going to Central." Everyone had insisted on carrying something for her, so the only thing Kaitlin was carrying was her ticket. Sure, her twiggy arms were…twiggy and weak, but she could at least carry her bunny. That cage wasn't that heavy.

"Don't want you hurting yourself before you get there." One of her sisters said, patting her head.

Kaitlin sighed, but didn't respond. She was still so overwhelmed with everything that was going on. She still wasn't sure what to say.

As her dad put her suitcases up on the rack above her head, both of her sisters hugged her. "We'll miss you!"

"Write every day!"

"I will…"

"And be safe!"

"Don't get into trouble!"

"I'll try not to…"

"And stay away from boys!" her father added.

Kaitlin didn't answer.

"Katie…"

She was silent. How could she promise to stay away from boys? She was a teenager, and she was sure some of those hormones had to come in eventually…

"Kaitlin…" his voice was harsher.

"…You know, the military is mostly made up of men. It's literally impossible to stay away from boys."

"Alright, stay away from boys your own age."

"I'll try."

After some more hugs, kisses, and awkward promises, her family left the train and waved as the train chugged off. She sat down on the padded seat. She'd been on the train a couple of times, but not in the extra-special part. Her compartment was sealed off from the rest of the train by a sliding glass door. The seats were also very comfortable, almost more comfortable than her bed. And a person came around and offered her candy at half price!

"You know…" she said to her bunny while eating some jelly beans. "I feel like I've read a book like this somewhere…a train ride with animal cages next to the person…candy…going to an extra-special school…What do you think, Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named twitched his nose.

She fed him a jelly bean. "You're right. A book like that wouldn't be popular."

/

"Bye mommy!"

"Be safe dear!"

"I will!"

Namori watched a girl board the train, her mother teary eyed behind her. She was a bit jealous of her. Her mom wasn't around anymore. No one was there to bid her farewell. She went on the train herself, no hugs goodbye, no kisses goodbye, nothing. She…She was alone…

Namori shook her head. She'd been depressed—at least less sugar-coated happy—that letter came. That was when she had her first memory of the war. She remembered being crammed into a cart with ten other children, a loud, large explosion and screams. As the cart runners yelled for their beasts to go faster, to get away, she thought she heard a loud, gleeful laughter echoing in the distance. She'd been having dreams about that scene every night.

She sighed. She was letting that dream get to her too much. She was Namori! She was always happy! This wasn't going to change that! She brought out her backpack and pulled out a sketchbook. She took out some colored pencils and started coloring in some of her drawings. Most of them were of her. She had few friends in the slums, but few of them wanted drawings done of them. She drew a couple people she talked to regularly, but that was about it.

She colored in a drawing of her in a red dress that matched her eyes and the streaks in her brown hair. She remembered a kid saying that she drew angels. When she was confused, he explained that they looked like cherubs.

She supposed that was true. There were a lot of circles and round shapes. The Namori drawing's face was round. Her limbs were smooth, but not skinny. And then there were her breasts, which half the time resembled balloons. However, it wasn't completely exaggerated. She was a double D cup, thanks to her mother, thanks to that little annoying think called genetics…her breasts earned her lustful stares, but her eyes warranted glares. Whenever she talked to boys, their eyes ignored her face and marveled how her shirt strained to restrain her chest.

Whoever said big boobs was a good thing was horribly mistaken. Sure, boys noticed you, but they only noticed your chest. And if a boy noticed her face, she was bombarded with insults. It was a wonder that she hadn't become cynical, all things considered. She was still innocent and kind to everyone who met her. Sure, she complained about some things, and then immediately turn to happier topics. Though, if the dreams persist, she wasn't sure how much she could smile.

She looked out the window. Maybe things would be different when she was in Central.

/

"You got your ticket?"

"Yeah dad." Eva held up her ticket, just to convince him.

"Got your sketchbook?"

"In my backpack."

"Candy?"

"That's about everything else in my backpack and there's some in my suitcase."

"Money for candy?"

"In my wallet, which is in my purse, which is safely in my backpack." She said with a large smile. The way she quickly repeated everything, it seemed as if she memorized this. She might as well have. Her father had been asking those same questions for a week as she packed, making sure that she was prepared for her eventual leaving to Central.

"Good…" he smiled, eyes shimmering a bit.

Eva's mother sniffed, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "I—I can't believe this! My little girl…going off to Central…"

"Mom…"

"I didn't expect this to happen for a while! I always knew you were a smart kid, so I thought you would go to college someday…but you're only sixteen…I didn't—I didn't—" she cried, hugging Eva.

"Mom…Mom, stop it…you're going to make me cry too…" Eva's brown eyes shimmered, a small tear slipping out of her eye and trailing down her cheek. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into her mother's neck, allowing some tears to slip out. There was no shame in crying here. After a couple of minutes later, she pulled away, rubbing her eyes. She looked at her parents. Her mother's face was hidden behind her handkerchief, and her father was smiling widely, a small tear going down his face.

"You going to be alright, Eva?"

She looked at her father and nodded. "Yeah. Of course." She hugged him.

He rubbed her head. "You're growing up so fast, baby…"

"I'm not a baby anymore."

"You'll always be my baby."

Damn, she was going to start crying _again_. She pulled away. "Alright then." She smiled at them. "I know the drill. Write every day. Leave no details out. Stay safe. Stay away from boys. Learn everything I can. Did I miss anything?"

They both shook their heads.

"Then…This is goodbye for now!" Eva jumped onto the train, dragging her luggage behind her. She put her suitcases on the rack above her and opened the window, waving as the train chugged off.

She dug around in her backpack and chewed on some candy, allowing the sadness still in her to be replaced with pure sugary energy.

She wondered if anyone would mind if she ran up and down the train.

/

Whoever did the times on the tickets was a genius. All the trains arrived at the exact same time. One girl was from East City, another from Makki—a city near Ishval—one from Dublith, and New Optain. They were all across the country, but their trains would be here any minute now…A military man tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, his violet eyes scanning the crowd. Four girls, each carrying two suitcases behind them, exited the station. He smirked and honked his horn. They all jumped and noticed the car. "Over here girls!"

They seemed to realize that the large car was for them and made their way over to it. The man stepped out of the car. "Your bags?" They each handed him a bag, and he easily lifted the bags into the car, even though some of them were quite heavy. He carefully put Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named between the suitcases so he wouldn't move around during the drive. He climbed into the driver's seat, the car groaning a bit under his weight.

"Wow…" a tanned girl—almost looked as if she was from Ishval except for the fact her hair was brown with dyed red hair instead of pure white—said. "You're really heavy."

"It's my mass. I'm heavier than I look."

The small girl with short brown hair—the tips died black for some reason—cocked her head, but stayed silent. She remembered what her school had said about mass. For some reason, it didn't compute in her head.

The military man drove off.

For a while, there was silence.

"So…" the tanned girl spoke up, breaking the silence. "I'm Namori."

"Katie."

"Mia."

"Eva."

In a matter of seconds, they were all excitedly talking to each other, now that the ice had been broken. The each expressed what they were looking forward to the most, what they wanted to learn, and what weapons they'd think would be awesome to fight with. The military man listened on some areas and ignored them in all other areas. Girls talk too much. His sister didn't have that habit, thank Father. He would've killed her by now. There's only so much he can take.

"We're here!" he called, and each of them looked out the window. Three men stood there, the smaller two men—which when compared the mountain of a man beside them, they were ants—talked heatedly to each other.

"You know…" Katie said. "I'm starting to think I should've worn a dress or something…I feel underdressed…" she was wearing a dull green t-shirt and a tight leather jacket with jeans and worn sneakers.

The other girls looked at their clothes. Eva was slightly fancier, though her clothes were still casual. She was wearing a white blouse with black jeans and steel toed books, mud caked on the soles. Namori wore a white sweater jacket over a black tank top that covered her stomach, but not her breasts. She also wore a black mini skirt and socks that extended past her thigh. It was better, but still wasn't good enough. Mia, on the other hand, had on a light blue dress that went down to her thighs. There was a ribbon that was tied under her breasts and tied into a neat little at a bow at her side. While she didn't wear heels, she did have some nice black flats on. The only thing really casual about her outfit was a black jacket she wore to cover her bare arms.

The girls looked at each other and suddenly became more nervous.

/

"Why the hell am I here Colonel?" Edward Elric looked up at the tall man.

Mustang blinked in surprise. "You don't know?"

"No I don't!" he pulled at his collar. "And why do I have to wear this damned uniform?"

Mustang laughed a bit. "Don't you remember signing saying you'd be teaching high school girls?" The last three words were said with fondness.

Edward froze.

"Oh, you really didn't know?"

"Alphonse…" Edward clenched his fist, vowing to pound in his brother's head.

"Come on, Edward. Just picture it. Young high school girls…flowers starting to bloom…young beauties in their prime…their young and soft voices asking you questions…you tending to their every whim…Soon, they'll entrust everything to you…their trust…their secrets…their life…"

"Their virginity?" Edward guessed.

"Yes!"

"We're not taking in porn stars, we're taking in high school girls."

"YES!" Armstrong's voice rang, causing Edward to flinch. "Finally, I will have the opportunity to teach THE GREAT ALCHEMY THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"

"Do you really need to take your shirt of, sir?" Mustang said. The girls weren't even there yet. There was no reason to strip if there weren't any ladies around.

"I don't see what's the big deal about high school girls…" Edward muttered as Armstrong retrieved his jacket.

"That's because you've been around them and you don't appreciate them." Mustang said. "When you're as old as I am, you find yourself missing the past and—"

"And the delicate teenage flowers." Edward muttered.

"Exactly. Though I didn't realize there would only be three of us. Doesn't anyone want to be in the company of high school girls?"

"Maybe they actually have morals…unlike you."

"Nonsense. Every man, whether they admit it or not, loves high school girls."

"I don't."

"Well, you're not really a man. More like half a man."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A HALF-PINT MIDGET?"

Mustang was about to argue more with him, when he spotted a large car coming up and parking near the steps. "Ah, here they are."

"Great…I hope I don't end up getting a girly girl."

"Looks like two girls are wearing jeans."

"How odd…" Armstrong muttered. "I know that recently females are starting to become more independent, but I still can't get used to a girl dressed as a boy…"

"Technically, only one is dressed as a boy. That short one with brown hair. The girl with the long brown hair has a classy-casual look. Still very feminine. I would prefer the dark one. She's already in a mini-skirt."

Edward rolled his eyes. Typical Colonel. Edward perked up as the youngest girl stepped forward, escorted by the military man that brought them down. She looked like she would be good. Not a girly girl who would talk about shopping and squeal at the sight of automail.

"Kaitlin Wiesel, Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Kaitlin blinked. She was thinking about a couple things. One, he was _huge_. Two, his State Alchemist name wasn't that…imaginative. It was his name, but the syllables were split into two words and traded places. "So…What are we going to do?"

"Well, first we'll drop your stuff off at the dormitory—"

"I get a dormitory?"

"You share a dormitory with your peers. It'll have beds, a nightstand, as well as a bulletin board and a whiteboard for notes, and a chest for clothes. There will also be a bathroom and a communal shower and a hot tub for after the shower. There's also a small kitchen." Armstrong recited. He knew what was in the dorms, as he helped set it up.

"That sounds huge…"

"The bedroom is about as big as a standard apartment."

Kaitlin's eyes widened. "Just the bedroom? As in not including the bathrooms and the kitchen"

"Yes."

"Aw, that sounds so cool!"

Armstrong smiled and patted her head. "I'm glad you are happy with it!"

"Happy? I'm ecstatic!" she had a feeling that she would be using that word a lot.

Armstrong patted her head again and walked to the car, carrying both of her suitcases under his arm and taking her duffel bag in his hand. Kaitlin carried Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, asking Armstrong some more questions.

Next was Eva. Edward hoped that he'd get her. She was wearing pants. She didn't seem like a girly-girl. She—

"Eva Vora, Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist."

—was going to Mustang, that bastard.

"Hi." She said, smiling. She hadn't burned off all of her sugar rush from before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Vora." He took her hand and kissed the back of it, causing her cheeks to light up red. He smirked to himself. It was so easy to make teenagers blush.

"Please, call me Eva."

"Well then, Eva, I hope you're looking forward to learning." He walked over to the car and took one of the heavier suitcases and her backpack while Eva took one suitcase.

"So what am I learning about?"

"Well, I'm teaching you about Alchemy, of course. Mostly Flame Alchemy."

"Ooooh! I like fire!"

"As do I. I'll also have my subordinates teach you about technology—"

"Oooohhh…"

"—how to fire a gun—"

"Cool!"

"—how to train your mind to memorize information—"

"Bleh!"

"—and whatever else they wish to teach."

"Do they know they're going to teach me?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"In about ten minutes."

Edward growled. Damn that Colonel…Alright. Two people in a skirt. One seems uncomfortable. He wanted her! The one with the overly-long hair! He did not want some girl who loved wearing skirts who would talk about how much she loved life and all that fluffy shit.

"Namori Anjyl, Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

He did not get who he wanted.

"Hi there!"

"Hey…"

"So…You want to help me get my stuff out of the car?"

"No."

"You really should be nicer."

"Why should I?"

"Well, when you are nice to people, Karma is sent down to award you for your deeds."

Oh great, she was a religious nut.

"Sometimes it's something small, but if you are nice enough, I'm sure you'll be awarded with a couple of inches."

Mia made a small noise. She knew that Namori was referring to his height, but Mia's mind was slightly more perverted than normal girls, so she thought that the couple inches to be added were to a certain part of his body that was lower than his head.

Edward steamed, knowing that she was referring to his height, or lack of. "Don't—call—me—small…"

"I'm sorry." She bowed. "I didn't realize that referring to your height was a soft spot. I'll never do it again."

Edward's flame was immediately doused, and he looked at the girl in front of him. He sighed and patted her head. "Come on…"

She smiled and followed him.

Mia looked around, feeling awkward. Where was her teacher?

"Mia Fontana?" the military man said.

"Yes?"

"Your teacher isn't here."

"Well, where is he?"

He smirked widely. "Central Prison."

/

How marvelous was this Stone. How compelling was the music he could make with it. With the stone in his mouth, he created a drum line of explosions with a wind of screams. Some were high, like a piccolo, others were low, like a bassoon. Ah! The music he was able to create. However, his superiors didn't want him to keep that lovely Stone. He was just used to test the Stone, as his Alchemy caused the most damage. When they asked him to give up his instrument, he did the logical thing.

He swallowed it and kept it to himself, then got rid of everyone who knew about his secret instrument. Well, everyone except that Homunculus who was apparently keeping an eye on all Ishval. He came a bit after he got arrested. He congratulated the Alchemist, said he found his last act particularly amusing, and stole his hair tie.

But he still had his Stone. His wonderful Stone. He crossed one leg over the other and hummed a tune, admiring his stone from every angle. The tune was one he concocted as an Ishvalan blew up. It started out slow and then swelled until it couldn't be contained any more and then…boom.

Footsteps interrupted his thought process. "Oops." He commented, quickly throwing the Stone into his mouth. He swallowed as the guard opened up the eye slot with a loud clang. Kimblee looked into the man's glaring eyes, trying not to wince at the overly bright light.

"Get out Kimblee." he grunted. "You're being discharged."

Kimblee stood up and shuffled towards the door. The many locks on the door were unbolted and the metal door was dragged open, a loud screeching sound emerging as it scrapped against the floor. Kimblee winced at the sound. It hurt his ears to hear that torturous noise. The jailer unlocked the foot long board that separated his hands. As the wooden board clattered to the floor, Kimblee rubbed his wrists. After wearing that for six years, his wrists were littered with splitters. It would be a while before they healed. "Am I allowed a shower and a change of clothes or do I have to walk out like this?"

He growled and led the former Alchemist to a bathing area. Kimblee washed himself, removing years of sweat dirt and grime that five-minute weekly washings had been unable to remove. He took a couple of minutes to just stand and soak while the guard glared at him. Afterwards, he shaved the few bristles on his chin and trimmed his hair a bit shorter, taking a small white piece of cloth and tying his hair back. He finally got into his crisp white suit again, relaxing a bit. It felt good to dress up. He slung the jacket over his arm, finding no need for the extra fourth layer to wear. He walked down the hallway with the man looming beside him. "Now," he said, asking the question that had been on his mind ever since the guard approached his door, "what's with this curious turn of events?"

"Don't ask unnecessary things."

"Is it an order from above?"

"Shut up. Anyway, just why haven't you been executed when you've killed five superior officers?" He also killed hundreds of Ishvalan, but apparently, they don't count. "What hand did you play?" the guard accused, glaring at him.

"Oh, nothing." Kimblee said, knowing that he actually didn't do anything. "Maybe it's personal virtue?" he smiled at the man.

The guard uttered a stuttering laugh. "Don't make me laugh, Mad Bomber!"

Kimblee's eyebrow twitched. Mad Bomber?

"I've heard that you were laughing while you killed the Ishvalans. What are the superiors thinking, letting someone this crazy be discharged!"

"Mr. Jailer?"

"Ah?"

Kimblee turned around, holding out his hand to him. "Thank you for taking care of me for so long."

He looked at the hand, hesitant, but shook his hand nonetheless. "Don't come back here again."

Kimblee smiled and gripped his hand tightly, moving his other hand up to grab his watch. Energy flowed between the two circles on his palms, meeting in the center. The watch began to change into something different. He pulled his hand away, sparks from the Transmutation still trailing from his hand. "I'm merely showing my thanks."

The jailer looked at his watch, and found that there were two small cylinders connected to the clock face. There were no numbers, only lines and a skull. An arrow slowly started moving to skull. He screamed and pulled on the watch, though it didn't give. Two other men rushed to his help, trying to disconnect the wires from the bomb.

"Take it off!"

"It—It won't come off!"

The jailer turned to Kimblee, his face contorted in terror. "Kimblee! Take—please take this off!"

Kimblee smiled down at him.

"The time—" the arrow headed towards the skull. "Time—!"

A small bird popped out of the clock face. The jailer stared at the bird, Kimblee smiling grimly down at him, his expression unchanged, his posture still straight and stiff. "It's just a trivial toy. Please give to your children as a present." He smiled and put his white fedora on his head, walking away. "Well then, goodbye." He did not find the term 'Mad Bomber' amusing in the slightest.

The doors slammed shut behind him. Kimblee looked around, trying to find out where his escort was or if he would have to walk. A hand came out of a car and waved. Kimblee smirked and got into the car and sat down next to a young girl. He turned to the young girl and blinked a couple of times while she stared back at him. "I'm terribly sorry, I must have gotten into the wrong car."

"You didn't." the driver said. Kimblee immediately identified his voice. "Kimblee, how do you feel about teaching a high school girl Alchemy?"

"Well, not really—"

"Mia Fontaine, Zolf Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist."

Kimblee looked at her for a couple of seconds before turning back to the driver. "Excuse me?"

"Long story short, you get let out of jail so you can teach this girl Alchemy."

"For how long am I teaching her?"

"A year. Maybe." He shrugged and started driving. "You two can get acquainted."

Kimblee continued to stare in shock at the driver before clearing his throat and turning to the girl beside him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mia." He smiled at her.

Mia blinked and turned away, looking out the window. He blinked in surprise. He certainly didn't expect her to ignore her like that. Kimblee turned to look out his own window. Mia looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was kinda cute…Mia blushed a bit at the thought. Stop it Mia, he was twice her age. And extremely hot. Damn, stop it Mia.

She shifted a bit and removed her jacket. Kimblee glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She wasn't as young as he originally thought. Her face was older than it looked at first glance, and showed signs of knowledge. She had long, black hair that trailed down to her thin waist. She took off her black jacket, showing her pale, bare shoulders. He let his eyes trial down her thin body. The light blue dress clung to her body, tight near the top to keep it attached, though it bagged out below her breasts. His eyes trailed down, gazing at her legs. She might've been young, but she certainly had a nice body. He wouldn't mind if he slipped into her—

Goddamnit, he just got out of prison, and now he's going to get a boner every time he looked at a girl. Six years were not kind to him.

"So," he said, taking off his hat and putting it onto his lap. "Tell me about yourself, Ms. Mia."

"What's there to talk about?"

Anything to distract from the boner. "Anything you can think of."

"Well, I'm eighteen."

Oh, she's legal. Not that he's ever done anything legal.

"I've got an older brother who I love to death. I've also got a mom and a dad."

"How's your relationship with them?" Mia looked at him, her head cutely tilted to the side. Kimblee inwardly shook his head, trying not to designate any adjectives like 'cute' or 'attractive' to her. Actions like that will only encourage him and will not get rid of the object currently holding up his hat. "I ask because I don't want you to automatically assume I'm a parental figure to you. I'm your teacher, not a parent, and I certainly won't treat as such."

"Alright…" Mia still didn't understand, but she decided it would be best to answer the question. "I guess I'm pretty close to my parents, except for maybe my dad. He's alright…"

Oh, she had some daddy issues. Damn, this was not helping at all.

Mia chewed on her lower lip for a couple of seconds. "That's about it."

Kimblee nodded, and silence resumed. The man pulled up to Central. "Ms. Mia, your stuff is still in the car, yes?"

"Yeah…"

"Would you please put it in your room?"

"I don't know where it is." Kimblee simply looked at her and she sighed. "I'll ask around…"

"Thank you." He turned to the driver as soon as Mia walked off. "Envy, is it?"

"Yep."

"When I was let out of jail, I expected that someone needed to be murdered or found, a town taken off the map or something along those lines. I didn't expect to be teaching."

"Hey, if I had my way, you'd be doing all those things. However, your little 'make-your-superiors-go-boom' stunt did not go well with the higher ups. Apparently they think that you might do the same to them. And then word got out that you were going to be released…You'd be happy to know that many people thought that a man as insane as you shouldn't be let out. In fact, they signed a petition."

"Where does the girl come into this?"

"They figure if you become attached to someone, you'll become less…crazy."

Kimblee scoffed. "A simple girl won't change that."

"I know that. It's called wishful thinking. Pretend it's working."

"So what am I doing with her?" Envy looked back at him, eyes flashing down to his hat. "I'm not doing that."

"King Bradley came up with the idea of having high school girls being taught by State Alchemists. You're a State Alchemist." He tossed Kimblee his watch. "So teach her."

He caught the watch and looked at it. He quickly opened it to see if the picture was still there. "Teach what?"

"Whatever you want. How to make people go boom."

"And if I say no?"

"Well, you're still here, so you can do your job."

"Excellent."

"But you have a house that's been sitting collecting dust and bills for seven years now."

"I have my State Alchemist budget."

"Oh yeah, about that…When you go locked up, your State Alchemist fund was emptied."

"It was what?"

"Emptied. Nothing left. But, if you teach that little squirt, your salary is doubled. Remember how much money you got from paperwork. Double that."

Kimblee sighed. That was a good amount of money. "Fine…" he stood up and left the car, stuffing his watch into his pocket.

"Hey! Where are you going? The apartment she's staying at is that way!"

"I'm going to the bathroom."

/

I think if I keep playing off a boner as a comedic purpose, I can keep this rated T…. Maybe…

Inspirations: The song PoP Goes My Heart from Music and Lyrics (inspired the title)

My friends on devaintART who inspired the teenagers.


	3. Chapter 3

Just a quick note. I made it rated M because the boner scenes do not get any better, they just get worse. Well, they're still funny, but I think there's only so many times I can do it…Thanks to all my reviewers (I love all three of you and I wish it was easier to reply to you guys!) and thanks to my friends on deviantART who inspired the girls in this chapter.

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 3

The girls returned to their rooms, talking excitedly about their day. They were surprised when they found Mia already in the room, in her light pink pajamas and sketching in her sketchbook. "Mia." Namori said, causing her to look up. "What are you doing here? Did your teacher already give you a tour?"

"Nope. He kinda…" she hugged her pillow to her chest "he kinda…left me here."

"He what?"

Kaitlin sat on her bed, taking out a cracker that she stole from the cafeteria for Bunny-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. "Whole story please."

"Well…My teacher just got out of prison—"

Namori gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Prison? You're being taught by a convict?"

"Well, he got let out, so he probably served his time. Hopefully. Don't get me wrong, I'm kinda scared to be in a closed area with him. I don't know what he did to be in prison but he seems too nice to be completely bad. Well, he's polite at least."

"Mia." Eva snapped her fingers in front of her face. "You're blushing Mia."

"I—I am?"

"Yep."

"Well, he was kinda cute…"

"And probably old."

"Well…I…I kinda like older men."

"Gold-digger…" Kaitlin sang under her breath.

"Nee, do you want to go out with someone your own age?"

"No, but only like…eighteen or something. Not thirty-something. Anyways, back to the story."

"Well, when he parked, he told me to take my stuff here, and he talked to the driver for a bit—and why are you blushing, Katie?"

"Huh! I'm—alright, I thought the driver was kinda cute…"

"We didn't even see his face."

"I thought his voice was kinda cute…"

"Now who's the gold-digger?"

"He's not thirty. He can't be older than twenty…nine…"

"Anyways…" Eva brought everyone away from the conversation. "He just left you here?"

Mia nodded. "He never came back."

"Well, we only got a tour of the facility." Namori said, smiling. "We took a brief stop in the weapons room."

"Were there a lot of knives?"

"A good amount."

Mia fell back on the bed.

"But we weren't allowed to take any!"

"No…It's alright…my nii-nii gave me a knife anyways…Speaking of nii-nii, I should write home."

Eva pulled out some paper. "Your parents tell you to write every day? Mine did."

"Same."

"Me as well." Kaitlin said. "Though, there isn't much to talk about."

"Yes there is!" Namori said, smiling.

"What?"

"We all made friends!"

The girls looked at each other, shrugged, and wrote about their classmates and teachers.

/

"I hope you got a nice sleep, Eva."

"Oh, I had an awesome sleep. The bed was really comfy. I slept the entire night, no problem! The alarm was a bit annoying though. Mia—the girl in the dress, though she doesn't like wearing dresses too much and isn't wearing one today—slept through it though. I jumped on the bed to wake her up. It was fun."

Mustang chuckled a bit. He really liked this girl. "Sounds like it. Now, I'll introduce you to my subordinates." Mustang opened the door, his underlings already lined up. "First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye will be teaching you how to shoot handguns."

Hawkeye smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. I hope you have a steady hand."

Eva smiled back. "As long as there isn't too much sugar in me."

"Sergeant Major Kain Fuery will be teaching you about technology."

Fuery smiled. She was almost as tall as he was. That really wasn't saying much though, as he was very small. He wasn't that old, but still…

"What kind of things do you do?" she asked.

"Well, I mostly work the radio."

"Sounds fun…" her voice indicated that it was anything but fun.

"Actually, it can be if you find the right line. You'd be amazed what people talk about."

"Yeah," a man further down the line said. "The boss here sometimes calls up girls."

"Havoc…" Mustang growled.

Eva giggled a bit. This 'Havoc' sounded pretty cool.

"Anyways…Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda will be teaching…What are you going to be teaching?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I could play chess with her. Chess is a good mind game."

"Chess?" Eva asked, tilting her head to the side.

Breda puffed his chest out, prepared to give the girl a lecture on the wonders of chess. "Believe it or not, chess can help with problem solving—"

"You're smart enough to play chess? You don't look smart at all."

Havoc didn't succeed in holding back his laughter, and he didn't try to be subtle about it.

Eva looked at him and looked at Breda. "And I mean that in the nicest possible way." She clarified.

Breda didn't hear her and instead chased Havoc across the room, yelling curses after him. Eva didn't know how or when, but she was soon on the ground, laughing loudly. It took a couple minutes to calm everyone down.

"Alright, now that that's settled…" Mustang growled. "Warrant Officer Vato Falman will be teaching you about investigated techniques."

Falman shook her hand. "I've come up with some mystery games to help you."

"Ooooohhh…that actually sounds fun!"

"I hope it will be." He smiled a bit.

"And last and least—"

"Hey!"

"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc will teach you anything he knows."

Havoc smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Eva."

She blinked a bit at him and smiled widely. "You too!"

"Glad you're here. We need some energy around here."

"Stuff me with candy, and they'll be plenty of energy."

He chuckled. "That sounds great."

Mustang took her shoulder and dragged her away from Havoc. "Let's not."

"Too bad…" Eva pouted.

The subordinates went to do their own things while Mustang sat at his desk, Eva sitting next to him. "We'll start with the basics. Drawing a Transmutation Circle. Do you do any art?"

"A little bit."

"Then this should be easy for you. Try drawing this." He took out an Alchemy book and tapped his finger against one of the Circles.

Eva took the pen and slowly drew it. She briefly looked up to see the room before getting completely engrossed in the Circle. Havoc was about to leave when he noticed her staring. He took his cigarette out of his mouth and winked at her, smiling at her. She giggled, causing Havoc to smile wider. He put the cigarette back She really wouldn't mind being here…

/

"So…I've got to teach you."

"Yes, Mr. Edward."

"Don't call me Mr. Edward."

"Sorry, Major."

"I'm not really a Major. Sure, these stars and badges say so, but I'm not one in my mind." Edward pulled on his shoulder strap, looking a bit at it.

"Sorry…"

"And stop apologizing. You haven't done anything wrong."

"Sorr—" she nodded.

"Alright, let's start with the basics. My name is Edward Elric, and I'm your teacher and your equal. That means I'm like you. You're what, fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Seventeen."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"You look like a little kid still…" he shook your head. "Look, just because I'm your teacher, a Major in the military, and a State Alchemist doesn't mean that you have to refer to me as 'sir' or 'mister' or whatever else come to mind. My little brother Alphonse will come over to help me teach you. He's better at certain things then I am." Especially now that he learned how to do a Transmutation simply by clapping. "I'll be teaching you about the various types of Transmutation Circles with the help of my brother. I'll also teach you how to fight with a staff, and my brother will teach you how to fight in hand-to-hand combat."

"What if I don't want to fight?"

"Oh, you're a religious nut _and_ a pacifist."

Namori gave the closest thing to a glare as her innocent demeanor would allow. "I'm not a religious nut."

"But you went on a mini-rant about karma."

She sighed. "Yes, I have a religion, but I don't think everything I do has something to do with religion. I just believe something, is that so wrong?"

Edward sighed. "No, no…I guess not…"

"As for the no fighting thing…I grew up in Ishval. I just don't like fighting all that much."

"Oh, you grew up in Ishval?" a new voice said. A tall armored man stepped into the room. Namori looked up in shock and wonder. He was so tall, but his voice was so young.

"Oh, hey Alphonse." Edward said.

"Hey, brother. Is this your student?"

"Unfortunately."

Alphonse bowed a bit. "It's nice to meet you."

Namori bowed too. "Likewise. I'm Namori Anjyl."

"So, you're from Ishval?"

"Yes. I left shortly after my town was destroyed."

"How old were you then?"

"Only ten."

"How sad."

"Yeah, yeah." Edward interrupted. "It's sad. Now, I don't care what you're religion says, or what happened to you. Alchemy doesn't just work the mind, it works the body. You can be a genius, but if you can't throw a punch, then you're dead."

"I guess that's understandable…"

"Great! Now, outside!"

"Huh?" Namori followed him. Edward clapped his hands and slammed his hands into the dirt. Namori's eyes widened, watching as a staff emerged from the ground and into Edward's hand. "How did you do that? Where's your Transmutation—" Namori ducked as Edward swung the staff at her head. She stumbled backwards and crashed onto the ground. "Wha—" she froze as she saw the butt of his staff between her eyes.

"First lesson: Dodging attacks. Get up and try again. You might want get those bangs out of your face. You need to see as much as you can."

Namori took a bobby pin and pinned the fringe of brown and red hair out of her eye, showing both of her red eyes.

"Ready?"

"Just about—" Edward sweeped his staff across the ground, pushing her feet off the ground. She crashed to the dirt again.

"First lesson part one: Always expect an attack."

Namori groaned. This was going to be hard.

/

Mia knocked on Kimblee's door, swallowing. She was a bit fearful about today. When she asked where Kimblee's office was, the man she asked gave her a sad look and told her where he was. As she walked away, she heard the man talk to his friend, pitying the young girl going to work with that man. Kimblee might've been nice enough, and he might've been able to charm her with some sweet well-placed words, but he was not a good person, that much she was sure. And she would be stuck in a room with him. Alone. At least he was hot. No, no, Mia! Don't think like that! Hotness means absolutely nothing!

"Come in, please." Kimblee's voice called from inside.

Mia bowed her head and walked in. Kimblee was sitting at his desk, looking through a file. After a finishing reading the rest of the page, he closed the file. He looked at her and chuckled. She glared a bit at him. "What?"

He smirked a bit at the fire that was in her eyes. She had some balls, it seems. Good. She would need some. He stood up, shaking his head. "Nothing. Yesterday you were wearing a short dress, and now you're wearing a long sleeved and stockings."

Mia blushed a bit. "I'm trying to get used to this weather. Once I find an outfit that fits, I'll wear it."

Kimblee smiled a bit at her. "There's no need to blush. You've nothing to be embarrassed about."

She blushed more. He might be a convict, but he knew how to flatter her and make her blush. Kimblee smirked a bit. She was very cute when she blushed. No, stop thinking that. "So, what am I learning today?"

Kimblee pulled out a large book. "This has just about every Transmutation Circle ever created." He put the book on his desk. "What I want you to do, is go through the first ten pages and pick all the Transmutation Circles that appeal to you."

"Alright…" Kimblee pulled out his chair for her, and she sat down. Mia tucked her hair to one side and started to draw the Transmutation Circles.

Kimblee looked at her. She looked very attractive while she was working. No she wasn't. That was the boner talking. Or, whatever attraction remained from the boner from yesterday. He didn't have a boner now, not at all. If he actually had a boner, he would be analyzing every detail of her body. For example, he would notice how her hair was pulled off to one side, naturally framing her face. He would also notice how her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, her face serious. However—he would notice if he actually had a boner—her face wasn't completely serious, as she was too young for her face to stay straight for any extended period of time. The corners of her lips twisted upward and her eyes had an excited spark in them. Kimblee smiled a bit, glad she was enjoying herself. She looked attractive—no, no, no more of those thoughts.

He wouldn't think about how nice her short dress was, how the burgundy fabric clung to her body, especially her arms, yet was baggy enough to leave a bit to the imagination. And he most certainly wouldn't notice how her black stockings clung to her legs, showing the curve of the limbs. And he wouldn't reminisce about how easily she blushed nor would he secretly hope that he would have the opportunity to make her blush even more when he would—

Alright, he might not have had a boner before, but he certainly did now.

He walked behind her, pretending to be looking at her work. However, he took the opportunity to look at her back. Her shirt was cut deep in the back, showing her pale skin to her shoulder blades. Kimblee reached out and brushed a strand of hair away, allowing his fingertips to trail across her smooth skin. Mia stiffened and turned around looking at him.

Kimblee blinked, realizing his actions. "There was a fly." He covered.

Mia looked down and her eyes widened a bit, cheeks turning a bright red. She pulled her chair further in, trapping her body against the desk. Kimblee sighed and left the room, not bothering to tell her where he was going. Mia continued working, her cheeks a bright red. A couple minutes later, Kimblee came back him, tying his hair back into a neat ponytail.

"I finished…" she whispered pushing the paper towards him.

Kimblee cleared his throat. "I'd like to apologize. Believe me, I don't want to…Well, I didn't mean to be…I've been in prison for six years, and my hands were separated by a foot long board." It was a bit vulgar, true, but it was the truth.

Mia turned her head away, not wanting to look at him. "I wasn't even doing anything…"

He sighed, softening his voice. "Most of the time, there doesn't need to be an action. You just need to sit there, and I need to analyze every detail about you, no matter how small. I must repeat, I am sorry. Under normal circumstances, I would not be interested in you in the slightest—"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm not cute?"

"You're going to corner me aren't you?"

She nodded a bit, smiling slightly.

He sighed. "Fine. Quite honestly, if I was ten years younger, I suppose I would be interested in you." The corners of Mia's mouth unconsciously twisted upwards. "However, I'm not ten years younger, and so I'm thoroughly embarrassed. Now then…your paper." Kimblee picked it up the paper and quickly scanned through the Transmutation Circles. "Very good choices. You picked a lot of offensive abilities. That would be easier for me. I'm not much of a defensive fighter." He put the papers in front of her. "Now then, pick your three favorite abilities and draw a circle for them."

Mia nodded and worked, her cheeks still red.

/

_I wonder how easily he could crush me. His hand is bigger than my head!_

"Something wrong, Ms. Kaitlin?"

"Katie. And nothing really. I'm just nervous."

"Ah, I understand. Alchemy is so complicated, it can make one nervous before using it." He patted her head.

"Uh…Yeah…Alchemy is making me really nervous…"

"So, how did your reading go?"

Armstrong had given Kaitlin a couple of books for her to read to give her some knowledge about Alchemy. She sighed and hung her head. "Not so good, actually. I only finished the little one…"

He blinked. "You…you finished one?"

"Just one…And it was little…"

Suddenly, Kaitlin found herself trapped in a massive hug. "AH! I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A GENIUS CHILD!"

"Ribs—! Ribs—!"

"WHAT A WONDEROUS CHILD IS THIS THAT IS BEFORE ME!"

"Dying—light—I see it—light…"

"Oh." Armstrong let the small girl go and she crumpled to the ground, catching her breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were suffering."

"It's—fine…"

"Armstrong?" a man with messy sandy hair looked down at them. "What is a civilian doing here?"

"SHE IS NOT A SIMPLE CIVILIAN! SHE IS A MINITURE GENIUS! SOMEONE WHO POSSESSES A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE BEHOND HUMAN THOUGHT! SHE WILL LEARN THE ARMSTRONG ALCHEMY THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"

"Uh…"

Envy in his military form—passing by to check on the students—stopped and turned to the other man. "She's here for Alchemy Academy. Armstrong's teaching her."

"Oh. Sorry, sir, I didn't realize it." the man went about to do his own business.

Envy scratched his head. "Damn, this is going to be a problem…"

Kaitlin took a step forward. "How about if we get uniforms then? Not like the military ones, but ones that say that we're someone different from everyone else."

"Wow, that's a pretty good idea."

She took another step closer to him. "Thanks!"

"Eh…"

She stepped closer. "What's wrong?"

"Ummm…I'll go tell the others." Envy ran off.

She frowned. He was quite cute…

Armstrong grabbed Kaitlin's arm. "Come, Kaitlin—"

"Katie."

"—We shall go to my house!"

"Your house?"

"My little sister shall find a uniform fitting for you!"

"Wait—"

It was too late. Armstrong was dragging Kaitlin away.

/

"Kaitlin, are you alright?"

"I refuse to come out."

"Do you not like my clothing choice, Ms. Katie?" Catherine asked. Armstrong asked his little sister to arrange a cute outfit for Kaitlin. Unfortunately, Kaitlin didn't quite like the cuteness. She refused to get out of the room. She was never one for girly clothes. This was a mix of cute and sexy, neither of which worked for her.

"Kaitlin—"

"Katie."

"—please come out."

She sighed. "Fine." Kaitlin opened the door. As she stepped forward, she almost tripped. She was forced into wearing high-healed orange shoes. That wasn't the worse part. Instead of wearing comfortable jeans, she was wearing a skirt like thing. She referred to it as a skirt like thing, because it wasn't really a skirt. It was an orange piece of fabric with purple edges with little beads hanging down from it that was tied at her waist. It was cut at an angle so that her left knee was covered and almost her entire right leg was showing. She was also wearing a pretty white tank top with angel wings on them. As if that wasn't enough, she had white cat ears on her head.

Catherine smiled and clapped her hands. "It's perfect! The perfect balance of cute and sexy!"

"Sexy?" Armstrong looked at his sister. "I thought we were aiming for cute."

"We are! But I want her to have some other appeal. She looks nice, right?"

"She looks cute."

"I look like a cat-angel-gypsy."

"It's very cute!"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, thank you Catherine, but we need to get going. Kaitlin?"

"Let me get my clothes first." She retreaded back into the room and slammed the door. In a couple quick seconds, she was wearing jeans under the skirt-substitute and sneakers as well as throwing her leather jacket over the tank top. "Let's go!"

Armstrong smiled at the girl, though Catherine couldn't share his happiness. This girl was a tomboy just like big sister. What a waste of a female.

/

Eva was scared. When she walked into the room, Mustang was sitting at his desk with a wide smile on his face. He greeted her happily. "Morning, Eva! Isn't this a wonderful day?"

Eva looked out the large window behind him. "It's…raining."

"I love the rain!"

Judging from the snickers that filled the room, that wasn't true. And considering he was the _Flame_ Alchemist, it seemed even less likely. "Okay…So…What's planned for today?"

"First, you have your new uniform to wear!"

"My what?"

Mustang shoved some black folded clothes into her arms. "Your uniform!" he shoved her out of the room. "You've got a uniform and you have to wear it!"

"Wait—what?"

"Your uniform!"

"What? Hey—what's going—" Mustang guided her into a bathroom. She raised an eyebrow at the closed door. She looked at the clothes in her arms. "No." she muttered. She was about to burst out the door, but Mustang was leaning against it, holding it closed. "No! Let me out! I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl!"

"Sorry!"

"No you're not, you perverted bastard!"

"Put yourself out of your misery and get changed."

Eva sighed. "Fine." She got changed and looked at herself in the mirror. She was still wearing her steel-toed boots, but she was also wearing a tiny mini-skirt that barely covered her butt. Luckily, she was given a pair of short tights so she wouldn't show anyone her panties. She was also wearing a black lace camisole that was a bit short, part of her stomach showing. She stared at herself in the mirror and tried to fix her outfit. She felt naked. There was too much skin showing. She couldn't deal with this.

"Mustang?"

"Yes, Ms. Eva."

"I hate you."

/

"Do you own any pants?"

"Well…" Namori thought for a second, swaying back and forth. "I have a pair of jean capris."

"Great. One pair."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright." He smirked. "I have to give a uniform for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

He handed her an armful of clothes. "Just try this on."

Namori headed to the bathroom, humming a bit.

"Brother?"

"What, Alphonse?"

"Those won't fit her."

"They'll fit enough."

"Brother, she's taller than you."

Edward flinched. "Yeah Al…I noticed that…"

"Edward!" Namori called from the bathroom. "These don't fit me very well!"

"Too bad!"

"B-but—!"

"No buts!"

"Alright…" Namori stepped out of the bathroom.

She had on ankle length black boots with a one inch elevation. She was wearing leather pants that were baggy, sagging down past her hips if it wasn't for the large brown belt holding the pants in place on her hips. She would've worn the pants higher, but any higher and her legs would show. She had on a black tank top, extremely short on her. Her large breasts forced the shirt to ride up slightly, showing her stomach. She would've covered them, but more of her cleavage would've been revealed. She had on a black jacket with silver edges and a blood red over coat with the Flamel on the back.

"Perfect!" Edward said, giving her a thumbs up.

"These are your clothes, aren't they?" she tugged on some white gloves.

"Yeah! You look awesome in it. Hold on, I want to braid your hair like mine." Namori got on her knees so Edward could reach her head and braid her hair. "Yeah, I realize that it's a bit short but what can you do?"

"Give me clothes that fit me?"

"This is easier."

Namori tried to adjust the shirt. "How so?"

"Well, I don't have to see your panties every time you fall."

"You—you could see that!" Namori's face were as red as her eyes.

"Yeah. It wasn't fun though."

Namori held her face in her hands. "How horrible…"

Edward shook his head. Girls.

/

"Mr. Kimblee?"

"Yes?"

Mia noticed the lack of clothes. The only thing on his desk was a file—same as yesterday—which he quickly put away. "Where's my uniform?"

"Oh, you're planning to join the military already? I didn't know I was that good of a teacher."

She shook her head slightly. "I passed one of my friends, Namori, talking to her teacher. She told me to beware, because we're forced to wear uniforms to say that we're not civilians. And judging by your face, you didn't know either."

"I was not informed." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I have an idea…Come here, please." He dug through his closet and pulled out his hat, placing it on Mia's head.

She took off the white fedora, looking at it. "You want me to wear this?"

"Yes. Though…you'll probably need something else…" he took his jacket out of the closet and handed it to her.

Mia raised an eyebrow at him, putting the jacket on. "How do I look?"

He shrugged. "Good, I suppose."

She sniffed the arm. "It smells like charcoal…"

"Ah, that would be some of my Alchemy."

"Your Alchemy is charcoal?"

Kimblee chuckled. "In a way. Now, I think I didn't show you the armory after our first day." He opened up the door for her. Mia curtsied a bit and left the room. Mia was still a bit scared. Charcoal meant fire. He was in jail for some reason, and it might've had something to do with his Alchemy. She looked up at him. Too bad she was a teenager. The hormones kept her from thinking straight.

/

"You shouldn't be down here, Fu."

The old masked man bowed his head. "I wanted to make sure you're alright, young master."

The teenager crossed his legs and arms in the seat, trying to look as professional as he could. It wasn't hard. Even though he was only fifteen, his past had hardened him. He looked much older than he really was. "I'll be fine. Now please join Lan Fan on the roof. Ms. Winry only gave me one ticket."

"What do you expect to find in Central?"

The teen looked out the window. "Don't know. But, the military knows a lot of things. I'm sure they know a thing or two about Immorality."

Fu nodded and dashed out of the window and onto the roof of the train.

Ling sighed. He knew there was something special in Central, he could feel it. Immorality was there.

Inspirations: The song PoP Goes My Heart from Music and Lyrics (inspired the title)

My friends on devaintART who inspired the teenagers.

The male anatomy.

MY THREE AWESOME REVIEWERS!

~Twi


	4. Chapter 4

I hate reformating this so that it actually shows the damned page breaks...-.-

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 4

They swore that they would not lose him this time. They lost him in Rush Valley, but they found him quickly enough. Central was bigger though. If they lost him here, it would be impossible to find him again. For a week, they followed the young prince, watching his every move. Maybe they grew too confident, and that's why he was now gone.

Lan Fan was starting to panic. Sure, Ling could take care of himself, but he had a tendency of fainting in alleyways. That could lead to trouble. She didn't want the Young Lord to get hurt.

There was no use in worrying, however. All they could do was search some more and hope that he'll be found before things got too bad.

/

The girls had been taught for a week now. They originally thought that adjusting to this life would be difficult, but it wasn't at all. The girls quickly bonded. Mia was their leader, not only because she was the oldest, but also because they all admired her her realistic drawing of the male anatomy, though nothing lower than the waist was drawn; every time she tried to do that, she was overcome with a fit of giggles and red cheeks. Eva was the smart one, the one who knew everything about the world thanks to her books. Kaitlin was smart also, but she was also the youngest. Therefore, all of the girls took it upon themselves to always look out for the small girl, no matter how much she protested. Namori was the happy one, the one who no matter what happened, could always make them smile. They also thought they should protect her, but only because she was innocent.

Their classes were going well. The weekdays were reserved for learning as much as they could. They expected to have Saturday off, like their teachers, but found themselves forced into a grueling exercise. They were forced to run as long as they could before collapsing. They were then given thirty minutes to recover, then they ran again. It was difficult, but they noticed that they were becoming stronger during the day. Their endurance was picking up. Over the coming weeks, they expected to have all fat peeled away to be replaced with muscle. Sunday was technically off, but all of them spent their time practicing what they learned during the week.

Eva spent half the teaching time with Mustang, learning about Alchemy. The other half was for whatever needed to be learned. She spent two days with Falman, learning how to identify and analyze surroundings. Two days were with Hawkeye, learning how to shoot. She learned how to load a gun and fire it, though she wasn't quick at loading, jumped while she shot, and missed every time. She took it upon herself to practice on trees after class. She was getting better as time went on. The last day, she was with Furey, learning about the way of the radio. In a short amount of time, she learned a lot about the workings of electronics.

Namori had a rough week. Edward didn't spend much time on Alchemy, preferring to fight. He chased Namori around, trying to get her to dodge attacks. On Wednesday, she finally got tired of him. When he swung the staff at her head, she grabbed it. Edward loosened his grip, shocked. Namori wretched the staff out of his hands and swung at his head. She managed to get a couple hits in before Edward grabbed the staff, using his Alchemy to cause the staff to dissolve into dirt. She expected to be hit, but he only praised her. She had impressed him. He then taught her some basic fighting movements, showing her how to fight with a spear. Alphonse was gentler with her, teaching her about the basic Transmutations. By Friday, she succeeded in making an angel shaped statue in under a minute.

Kaitlin did most of her learning in books. She practiced Alchemy with Armstrong. He also tried to teach her some combat as well. When he realized that her limbs were not made for fighting, he instead taught her about self-defense, to use the opponent's weight against them. He then took her to the armory, trying to see if she would find a gun easy to use. When he was about to present her with a gun he thought was good for her, he found her staring at a small area that had swords in it. Armstrong agreed to give her a sword, as long as she promised to carry a knife and a gun with her. Kaitlin eagerly agreed.

Mia's classes were a bit difficult, though more to do with her teacher than with what she was learning. After the incident with the boner, Kimblee was very careful about staying a good distance away from her, making sure to not touch her if they were in close quarters. Mia was slightly annoyed at this. Part of her was grateful about having a former convict always staying away from her, but she didn't like having the attractive man refusing to touch her. Sure, it was embarrassing about his feelings for her, but she preferred to have him close. She had developed a crush on him, and her hormones were telling her to be as close to him as possible. Too bad Kimblee decided to not listen to his boner, and stayed away from her.

The week passed by quickly, and all of them were looking forward to Monday.

"Bad news," Eva said, coming into their room, wearing her pajamas, a black tank top and sweats. "The air conditioning is wonky. It won't decrease the temperature at all."

"You sure?" Mia asked, wiping her forehead. She didn't want sweat to get on her sketch.

"I'm sure. I got Fuery to check it out just to confirm. It's useless. It's broken. They won't be able to fix it until tomorrow while we're working."

"What's the temperature right now?" Kaitlin asked, taking a drink of icy water.

"The thermostat is stuck on thirty-two centigrade." Eva muttered.

"That's too hot!" Namori said. That was weather that was present during the summer, when the dry winds of Ishval blew into the slums.

"It doesn't help that the hot water in the bathroom is heating up everything else."

"Can we turn off the hot tub…bath…soaking…thing?" Mia said, struggling to find the right word.

"I would ask Fuery, but he's kinda embarrassed about coming into our showering area."

"Aw…that's cute…" Namori said. "But there's still the problem of it being really really hot."

Mia sighed and stood up. "Well, there's only one way to combat that."

"How?"

"Stripping." Mia said, removing her pink pajama tee-shirt and long pants, putting on her bra.

If anyone had told the girls that they would have to shower with other girls, they would've blushed and told them to stop saying such things. However, the showers in their dorm area were communal. There were four showers in the jade tiled room, and there was no dividing wall, so no privacy. The girls were a bit traumatized, but Eva managed to get some of her senses, and told the girls that there was no big deal, as they all had seen the same thing before. The only difference was the size of their breasts—and comparing flat Kaitlin to busty Namori, there was a big difference. It still took them ten minutes to get the courage to shower together. However, once they got past that hurtle, it was easy. They talked to each other in the showers, and even enjoyed relaxing in the hot bath together. There was no shame anymore between the girls.

Mia relaxed a bit. "It's not as hot anymore." She smiled. The rest of the girls did the same, enjoying the quick drop in temperature. They opened the windows to drain some of the heat and talked a bit before heading to bed, Kaitlin first, followed by Eva shortly after.

"Mia?"

"Yeah Namori?"

"You mind if I watch you draw for a bit? It's too early for me to go to sleep." Mia nodded, and Namori sat next to her, looking over her shoulder. "Is that your teacher?" she asked after a while.

Mia nodded. "Yeah."

"No wonder you have a crush on him," she said, tucking some hair behind her ear. "He's cute."

"I don't think that's the right word."

"Hmm?"

"See, cute is what you used to say that the boy in your class has some attractive qualities. He's not a boy anymore."

"So he's attractive?"

"Hot might be a better word."

Namori rested her head against Mia's shoulder. "Just be careful, Mia. He was in prison."

"I know…I know…"

"It doesn't matter how sexy he is, he's still dangerous."

Mia smirked and turned to her. "Did you just admit he's sexy?"

Namori blushed. "Well…He's sexy on paper. Everything looks different on paper."

"Uh-huh…"

"I'm going to bed now." Namori said and stood up, walking to her bed.

"Night, Na-Na."

"Na-Na?"

"Yeah. Mind if I call you that?"

She smiled widely and clapped her hands together. "Not at all."

Mia blinked. "I just gave you a nickname. I didn't say I loved you or anything."

"I know. I'm just happy. I've never really had any friends so when you gave me a nickname, it made me feel for the first time in my life that I had a friend that—"

Mia threw a pillow at her. "Stop being sappy and go to sleep."

/

"Kaitlin?" Eva said, pulling on her miniskirt.

"Yeah?" Kaitlin was seeing if she could finish the next chapter of her Alchemy book. She only had thirty-two pages left of the chapter. That won't take much time at all.

"It's your turn to wake up the lug."

"We really should try to get Mia to wake up earlier. It's getting difficult to do this."

"Yeah, but at least she doesn't stay up to midnight anymore."

"True…I'll wake her up. Don't worry."

"Thank you." Eva kissed her head, causing Kaitlin to push Eva's head away. "Have fun learning about—"

"Causing structures to emerge out of the ground and beat rivals to a pulp."

"Cool."

"Have fun wearing a miniskirt."

"Oh, shut up."

Kaitlin read for a bit before sparing a look at the wall clock. "Nutburgers!" she swore. "I'm going to be late!" she put some food into Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's food bowl, filled up the water, put on her gypsy skirt, leather jacket, and cat ears, and ran out of the room, trying to balance the heavy books in her arms.

The lug was left to sleep.

/

Kimblee was getting annoyed. He was willing to give his student the benefit of the doubt. She might've had some problems at the apartment. He understood that things come up, but this was a bit too late. Too much time had passed. Just what was she doing? He sighed and stood up. He'll just have to fetch her himself.

He walked into the apartment, not bothering to knock. There was Mia, sleeping quietly on the bed, sheets tucked up to her neck. Kimblee sighed. She was sleeping in. That was not acceptable. If he was forced to take care of that girl, the least he expected of her was for her to wake up in a timely manner. He walked to the side of her bed and looked down at her. She was sleeping softly, looking at peace. He smiled a bit at her despite himself. She looked a bit like Kimm—

He shook his head, telling himself to forget about that time. However, when he looked at her while she was sleeping, the resemblance was uncanny. He put a hand on her shoulder and shook it gently. "Mia."

Mia didn't react.

"Mia." He said a bit firmer.

Mia muttered a bit in her sleep.

He shook her shoulder harshly, voice raising, though he wasn't yelling quite yet. "Mia!"

The lug was still asleep.

He sighed. It was useless. She was a heavy sleeper, his actions doing nothing to wake her. He brushed a bit of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She shivered and leaned her head towards his hand a bit. Kimblee looked down at her and ran his fingertip down the shell of her ear. She moaned softly, enjoying the soft touch. Ah, her ears were her weak spot. He stuck his finger into his mouth, getting it wet. He then stuck his finger into her ear.

Mia's eyes snapped open at the unpleasant sensation. She sat up and squealed, the sheet falling down to her thighs. She then slapped the person across the face. She didn't care if it was her friend, she didn't want them doing that to her ear. However, the person she slapped wasn't her friend, but an Alchemist who hated being slapped. "Hey!" he yelled, and then froze.

Mia looked at Kimblee, realizing who she just slapped, and realized what she wasn't wearing. All her blood flowed up to her face.

Kimblee looked at Mia, realizing that she was only wearing her black bra and matching underwear. All his blood flowed downwards.

"What—what are you doing here!" she cried, grabbing the sheet and covering her chest to censor herself, even though Kimblee had already had a good look at her.

Kimblee blinked and quickly turned around, his own cheeks turning a bit red. She had to be wearing black underwear…"You weren't in my office. I was seeing where you were. You were asleep, so I woke you up."

"Did you have to do that?"

"You wouldn't wake up any other way."

She sighed, pulling the sheets closer to her chest. "How late am I?"

Kimblee pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. "An hour and fifteen minutes."

Mia looked away from him, embarrassed about being late and about being practically naked in front of him. This day was not getting to a good start…

Kimblee looked over his shoulder at her. "I'll give you ten minutes to get ready." He walked to the door. "Be in my office at 9:45."

Mia looked at the clock on the wall, noticing that it was only 9:20. She didn't need that much time to get dressed. However, Kimblee might need a bit of time…"Mr. Kimblee?"

Kimblee turned around to look at her. "Yes?"

"I wish you wouldn't masturbate every time we meet. It was embarrassing at first, but now it's annoying." Mia told him, her face straight and serious.

Kimblee blinked at her and laughed a bit. "Alright, Mia. I'll try to control myself around you." He touched his forehead, bowing a bit, and left the room.

/

Envy—in the form of a blonde military man—entered the bathroom and knocked on a stall, after checking that the bathroom was empty except for that one.

"Occupied." Kimblee grunted from the other side.

"How's class work going?"

"Oh, wonderful." He groaned a bit, not bothering to keep quiet anymore.

"I don't know much about how humans work, but I would think if you just fucked her, you wouldn't have to do this every day."

"This is only the third time. And if you had the same workings as a human, I'm sure you would be in the same position as I am."

"Oh?"

"She wasn't in class, so I went to check on her. It turns out she was asleep—"

"You're turned on by sleeping people?" To each his own, but Envy couldn't help but feel it was unorthodox, and not suiting with the bomber's personality.

"Please don't assume such things; let me finish, Mr. Envy. She was in her underwear. It wasn't as bad before, because all her clothes were baggy enough to leave something to the imagination, so I could always pretend that her body had some scar, lump, or some other disfigurement that could be present. That way, I wouldn't be so affected. However, that is not the case now. Her skin was pale and smooth. Unless she has some horrible deformity hiding on her nipples, I could still use that excuse, but I highly doubt that would work."

"You haven't gotten attached to her have you?"

Kimblee moaned loudly and flushed the toilet. "Not at all." He opened up the stall and washed his hands, covering them with soap.

"Really?" Envy couldn't help glancing down at Kimblee's pants.

He glanced at Envy. "Really. She's a hindrance. The sooner I get assigned a mission, the better. She's annoying."

"And yet you still get a boner every time you're around her."

"Lust means nothing. As soon as I pay off all of my house payments, I'll hire a hooker or two and I won't have to deal with this distraction anymore." He rinsed his hands, chuckling a bit. "That's the only thing she's good for. She gives me more cenz. Anything else you have to ask?"

"Nothing. Just checking up on you." Envy moved to leave.

"Tell Bradley or Father to assign me a mission soon. I'm not living up to my potential here." Kimblee said, not looking up from his hands.

"I'll tell him."

Kimblee dried his hands and left the room just in time to crushed by a young girl tripping down the steps.

/

Namori quickly drew two circles, one inside the other, and drew a triangle touching the larger circle. She slammed her hands around the perimeter of the circle and stood up as a blue light emerged. She guided a spear into her hand and pulled it out of the ground, and swung her spear at Alphonse. Alphonse held up his arm and blocked the attack.

"Thirty seconds." Edward said, smirking. "Nice. You're not useless after all. Have you been practicing?"

"Yes. Every day for thirty minutes after class. I practice fighting the other thirty minutes." She said proudly, loosely cradling the spear in her arms.

"Huh…I'm actually impressed."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Edward. That's what I was hoping for."

"Great." Namori was about to get down on her knees again to fix the floor, but Edward grabbed her arm. "Hey, Alphonse can do that."

Alphonse nodded and clapped his hands, pushing the spear back into the ground.

"Wow…You can do it too…"

Alphonse looked at her, confused. "Do what?"

"Clap Transmutation…How do you guys do that?"

The brothers exchanged glances. "It's a secret."

She pouted. "I can't know?"

Edward shook his head quickly. "Nope."

She frowned.

"Sorry. It's not…it's not something that people should be able to do. It comes at a cost." Edward exchanged glances with his brother, and a thought passed between them in that gaze that Namori couldn't identify. Edward turned back to Namori, walking over to the small desk that was granted to him as a State Alchemist. "Now, would you mind doing something for me?"

Namori smiled, excited. "Anything."

He shoved a stack of papers into her arms. "Take these down to that bastard Mustang's room for me."

"What—"

"It's training for the world of the military. Get going."

"Oh—alright…" she walked out of the room. She approached the steps and carefully stepped down. She could barely see above the papers. When the steps ended, she relaxed and continued walking normally. However, she forgot that the steps continued after a couple feet of being flat. She walked forward and her foot found no ground. She screamed a bit and tumbled down. Luckily, someone caught her. She crashed into the person and the two of them fell to the ground.

Kimblee was walking out of the bathroom the same time Namori fell. He didn't really have a choice whether to save her or not. Either way, she would've crashed into him. He simply took the way that would give both of them the least amount of harm, which was catching her, softening her impact into him. It was enough to launch him onto the ground, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

Kimblee groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He looked down at the girl pressed against him. She was wearing all black, except for a red coat with the Flamel on it and white gloves. She had brown hair with blood red streaks in a loose braid, one antenna sticking up slightly. Her face was pressed into his neck, and he could feel her breath coming out quickly. Her head was near his cheek, and he could easily smell the relaxing scent of lavender drifting off her hair. It was so relaxing that it almost distracted him from another thing about her.

The unmistakable feeling of her breasts against his chest.

He could tell they were large by the way they felt, even if he couldn't see them. They were pressed against his chest, and he could vaguely since the circumference of them. Big breasts. Very big breasts. He also felt the rest of her body against his. He groaned again, though not from pain, but from the growing object that he got rid of just a minute ago.

"Oh!" the girl said, seeming to gain realization of what happened. She stumbled back off of him—which caused him to frown despite himself—and covered her face with her hands, clearly embarrassed. "I'm—I'm sorry! I—I was just walking a-and I fell and—"

Kimblee chuckled a bit and sat up, knelling on one knee to hide himself from her. She was kind of cute too. A different kind of cute than what Mia had. Mia was a sophisticated cute, one that showed when she was in thought. This girl was cute in the area of being a girl. He wasn't sure which cute was more appealing. Of course, he didn't want to be comparing the cuteness between two teenagers that he should have no interest in. "It's quite alright, Miss. It was only an accident." He looked at her chest. He saw the deep cleavage and the way the shirt struggled to hold them back. Really big.

"No, no…" she shook her head, still covering her face. "It's my fault…"

He touched her arm slightly. She stiffened and relaxed at the touch. "Stop apologizing, please." It was very annoying. "Might I ask your name?"

She relaxed and slowly lowered her hands and looked at him. "Namori."

Kimblee froze. Her—her eyes! They were red! Her skin was dark too. It was unmistakable. Sitting in front of him was an Ishvalan! She was young too. She must've been alive while the war was going on. Yes…she would have to be. Did she live in the city, or within Ishval itself? It was probably Ishval, for not many of their kind left their 'holy land' as they so thought it to be, especially if they were children. But if she lived in Ishval, then she wouldn't be allowed to escape the area or the country. He wondered where she lived. Did she make her home in the region where he was charged with exterminating? No. Impossible. He left none alive, he was sure of it. Then again, even if she wasn't from his region, he was from another's. She should be dead right now, but she wasn't. He would have to fix that.

He would be the one to kill her.

There was no one around, no one to see her and him together. Who would care though? She was just an Ishvalan. No one would mind. They annihilated nearly their entire race before. Why would doing it now change anything? He'd be praised for killing her.

It would be easy for him to kill her. Just a simple clap of the hands and pressing his palms against her, one on her chest, and the other to cover her mouth so she doesn't scream. He would love to hear her scream though. It would be a pleasure to hear it. He couldn't risk it though. He moved his hands, ready to clap.

"Na-Na!" Mia rushed out from behind Kimblee and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

Kimblee put his emotional mask back on, hiding his malice for the Ishvalan. "She fell. I managed to be there and I saved her."

Mia bowed her head slightly at him. "Thank you."

Namori blinked and shook her head to clear her mind. He was quite attractive…and familiar…"Yes. Thank you—"

"Kimblee. I am Miss Mia's teacher."

So this was Mia's teacher…she blushed a bit, remembering her comment from the night before. "Thank you, Mr. Kimblee." she bowed low, giving Kimblee a rather nice view down her shirt. "How can I repay you?"

Let me kill you. "It was nothing, really. You don't need to do anything." Kimblee helped pick up the papers, hoping that he wouldn't have to straighten up and show his shame to Mia again. He arranged them so the edges were straight and held the stacks. "I'll carry these for you."

"Oh. Thank you." She bowed again.

He smiled, holding the papers below waist height. "Where are we going then?"

"Oh! This way." Namori led the way, talking to Mia.

Kimblee looked at them, slightly confused. Mia looked very excited as she talked to her friend. He raised his eyebrow at the pair. Did friends really give that much pleasure? The only friend he really had was just a person to talk to who never understood what was going on in his life, but pretended to care. Maybe girls talked on a whole other wavelength. Maybe their talks gave pleasure in ways that guy talk did not. That made sense. Females were more feeling creatures than males.

Namori opened up the door. "In here." She took the papers out of his arms. Thankfully, there was nothing he'd regret under his pants.

"Mr. Mustang?"

Eva looked up from her studies. She frowned. Poor Namori and Mia…They would be roped in…She had figured out quickly that Mustang was ecstatic about having teenage girls within the military. He also liked making them wear very revealing clothes. Luckily, Namori was wearing clothes that didn't show much skin, other than her breasts and some of her stomach, and Mia was wearing pants and a tee-shirt and had Kimblee's jacket draped over her shoulders.

Mustang looked up. The first thing he noticed was a cute girl. That was the one in the mini skirt! She didn't look like she was in one now though. Pity. Edward had to dress her up in his outfit. "Hello? Can I help you?"

"Hi, Mr. Mustang. Edward told me to give these things to you."

Mustang looked shocked at the comment. "Edward made you do this?"

"Yes." Namori nodded.

"How rude of him, making a girl carry these things around! Here, Eva, take these." Mustang transferred the papers from Namori's arms to Eva's. "Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Colonel Roy Mustang." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "The Flame Alchemist."

Namori blushed. "Umm…"

Mustang smirked while Kimblee rolled his eyes. Mustang's eyes drifted to Mia. "And who is this beautiful girl?"

Mia blinked at him. Beautiful? She was beautiful? She blushed a bit, but for some reason being called beautiful by Mustang didn't make her feel as happy as when Kimblee called her cute. It must've been the fact that she didn't have a crush on Mustang. He was attractive, sure, but she preferred long hair—as evidenced by her own waist long hair—and she found the danger that seemed to emerge from Kimblee intriguing. "Um…I'm Mia."

"Pleased to meet you, Mia." Mustang moved to grab her hand and kiss it.

Kimblee's eyebrow twitched, not liking the fact that a flirtatious man like him taking advantage of a young woman. As soon as Mustang gently took Mia's hand, Kimblee grabbed the nearest part of Mia—her hair—and pulled her away.

"Ow!" she cried, gripping his hand and pulling her hair free.

"Please stay away from him. He's nothing but a flirt."

Mustang froze, suddenly realizing the man in front of him. His eyes widened as he looked at Kimblee. "You! What are you doing out of prison?"

Mia looked up at Mustang. He looked horrified at the Alchemist before him, but his eyes glinted with malice. She looked up at Kimblee. There was a smirk on his face, obviously enjoying making the Colonel squirm. "I don't believe that it that is any of your concern, Mr. Mustang." Kimblee said. Mustang obviously remembered their conversation in Ishval, or he wouldn't be so shaken up from him being here.

The horrified look quickly faded, only malice in his eyes. "I believe it is."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." He pointed to the badges on his uniform. "I'm a Colonel, and you're a lowly Major."

Kimblee's gaze hardened. "Lowly?"

Mustang smirked, knowing that he was getting under his skin. "That's right, Crimson. I outrank you, and I demand to know an answer."

He demands? What made him higher than him? Sure, he might have a higher rank, but he would not tolerate that man looking down on him. His position of power meant nothing. He would not allow him to push him around. His Alchemy was stronger than Mustang's, and he could easily kill a man with a smile on his face and a hum on his lips. Mustang couldn't say the same. And when it came down to the battlefield, the ability to kill, not rank was all that mattered. He was about to voice those things, but he was interrupted.

"He's out of prison to teach me Alchemy." Mia said. She glared at Mustang, but kept her face and voice as serious as she could, not letting anger direct her actions. "Please don't insult my teacher like that."

Kimblee looked down at her, shocked that she would defend him like that. Kimblee noticed that one hand was behind her back, clenched in a tight fist. Was she that angry at Mustang for insulting him? Kimblee reached down and lightly took her fist in his hand, squeezing it as a way of thanks.

Mustang was surprised, not only that the pretty girl defended Kimblee, but the fact that the pretty girl was being taught by Kimblee. "Who would be crazy enough to let a mad bomber like him out of prison?"

"Mad bomber?" Kimblee glared at him as that nickname was brought up again.

Namori looked at the three of them. A fight was bound to start soon. She took Kimblee's hand gently in her own, hoping that it would calm him down. "Come on. Edward's going to get mad at me if I'm late."

Kimblee nodded and left the room. They walked down the hallway in silence, allowing the anger to simmer down. "Thank you both for your actions in there." He said, causing the girls on either side of him to look up. "Now…why are the two of you still holding my hands?"

"You're holding onto mine." Mia said, though she was slightly gripping his hand now that her hand was no longer a fist.

"I needed to calm you down." Namori said, cheeks turning a bit red. Both of the girls let his hands go, both of them slightly sad and disappointed that they were no longer holding onto him. "I'll see you back at the dorms, Mia. Remember that it's your turn to make dinner."

"Yeah, yeah…" the two of them parted ways. "Mr. Kimblee?" she asked when they went back to his room.

"Yes?"

"Why did Mustang call you a mad bomber?"

Kimblee chuckled a bit. "My apologizes for laughing at you, Mia. You just sounded like a child saying that. But he called me that because that's what my alchemy is. I specialize in explosions. I suppose I get too caught up in my art to realize that what I see as beautiful, others see as disturbing."

Mia nodded. She slightly understood what he was saying. She tended to find interest in the macabre. "So what will I be learning today?"

"You have an interest in knives, yes?"

She nodded.

"I happen to like knives myself. I'll teach you how to properly use one."

/

Mustang glared at the door for a bit before rubbing his forehead. "Eva?"

"Yeah, Mustang?"

"Why don't you have Havoc teach you for the rest of the day?"

She nodded. "Alright." She walked over to where Havoc was sitting, working on paperwork. "Havoc?"

"Yeah? Oh it's you, little girl."

"Eva. Not 'little girl'."

"Alright, Eva." He took his cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it. "I guessed you wouldn't like smoking that much." He said, explaining his actions.

"I've gotten used to the smell. You stink up the place."

"Stink up—hey, it's not that bad of a smell!"

She giggled. "Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No—you know what. You win. I surrender. My cigarettes turn this whole place into a tobacco smelling hole, agreed?"

"Agreed!"

Havoc smiled and shook his head at her. "Alright. So, I guess I'm going to teach you now, right?"

"Yep! So what are you going to teach me?"

"Well…" he leaned in close, as if what he was about to say was a secret. Eva leaned in too, smiling. "I'm going to teach you the most important thing about the military, little girl?"

"What? How to fight in combat?"

"Closer to home."

"Relations between other countries and how we can improve them to the benefit to us?"

"That's important, but that's even further from home, little girl."

"Military strategies?"

"I suppose it could be in a way."

"What is it?"

"Guess, little girl."

"I can't!"

"You want a hint?"

"I want the answer."

"That's no fun though."

"So?"

"Alright. You're too cute to leave in the dark for long."

"I'm cute?"

"Yeah, doesn't Mustang call you cute, little girl?"

"Well, he's a pervert."

"Pervert, loves women, what's the difference?"

"The context, maybe? And you're changing the subject."

"You caught me, little girl. Alright, I'm going to teach you…" He paused.

"Yeah?"

"How to…" Pause.

"Yeah?" she was getting excited.

"Forge paperwork."

Her happiness level that had been built up from the tension dropped. "What?"

"Yeah. Well, maybe it isn't as big and exciting as I made it out to be."

"It isn't."

"But if you got a lazy boss like Mustang, you'll have to carry the load of his paperwork."

"Alright…so what does paperwork do?"

"Paperwork doesn't do anything, little girl. It's what's written on the paperwork that matters."

"Alright. What is written on paperwork?"

"It depends. After we go on a mission, or find something suspicious, we have to do a report on it. Mustang mostly does that on his own, but that's because each one has to be filled out specifically. There's also a lot of documents to be signed. Those documents can be anything. There's too many for me to tell you, little girl. Those are the ones he passes off to us."

"That's not fair to you."

"I guess so. But, he does give whoever does the paperwork half of his pay for the day. It's worth it. Especially since you came along, little girl."

Eva blinked. "Me?"

"Yep. Mustang gets paid a pretty cenz for teaching you along with his pay as a military man. That means that his pay is bigger, and so is my half."

"Oh…so what do you get paid for helping him?"

"Ohh…20000-ish cenz…"

Her eyes widened. "Whoa! That's a lot!"

He shrugged. "Military is a nice job. Now, if you help me, I'll do the fair thing and give you half of my cenz, deal?"

"But don't you need it? You probably have a house and stuff to deal with."

He brought out his lighter and played with it for a bit. "It's just a couple cenz. I can live without it. So, wanna learn the deepest, darkest secrets of the military?"

"You mean Mustang's signature?"

"Exactly!"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Alright then." He split the pile in half and put them in front of Eva. He showed her Mustang's signature and the different curves she'd have to do as well as the flame at the end. Eva practiced the signature for a bit, eventually perfecting the art of Mustang's signature. "That's great. You're a quick learner, little girl."

"Thanks, Havoc!"

Havoc smiled, but then his nose curled and he sneezed, pen falling to the ground and rolling under the table. "Aw shit!"

"I'll get it."

"You sure, little girl?"

"Of course! I'm small enough to fit under there." She ducked under the table.

Havoc looked down at her. He could only see her butt sticking out from under the table. He then looked behind him and noticed that there were two military man delivering things to Mustang, who stopped just to observe her position. "Hey." He said, glaring at the men. "Do you mind?"

Eva's eyes widened and she quickly moved out from under the table, sitting back in her seat. The other soldiers moved away, one commenting that he thought he saw down her shirt. Eva crossed her arms and buried her face in them.

Havoc put his hand on her shoulder. "That happen a lot, Eva?"

"A bit…I hate it…"

He blinked. Before she was happy and sugar high. Now she was completely serious. He frowned at her. He looked at her for a couple seconds more and sighed. "Damn…I can't stand to see a pretty woman in distress." He started unbuttoning his jacket.

Eva looked up at him. "What do you—" she broke off as she saw him peel off his jacket and unbutton his black shirt. She stared at him as he removed his shirt. "What are you doing?"

He held out his shirt to Eva. "Here."

"What do you want me to do with that?"

"Wear it. You get teased a lot for that outfit, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then put this on. You can button it up and censor yourself."

"But it's yours!"

"I've got a bunch of them."

"But—"

"Little girl, can you make a decision soon? I'm starting to get cold."

She looked at him, eyes darting down to his bare chest. It did look like he was getting cold…"Alright." She took the shirt and put it on. "It's warm…"

He chuckled a bit. "Yeah, little girl, that's cause I was wearing it."

She buttoned up the top buttons, censoring her chest. "This works…yeah, this works really well…"

He patted her head and put on his jacket. "You're welcome, little girl."

"Why do you keep calling me that? I'm not sixteen, so I'm not a girl."

"I'm twenty-seven. You're a girl to me."

"Alright. But I'm not little; I'm taller than most girls!"

Havoc stood up. "Stand up, little girl."

She stood up and Havoc stood next to her. She came up to his shoulder, barely able to see over it. "Alright, so you're taller than me, but not by much."

He put his hand on his head and moved his hand so it was over hers, showing the difference.

"You're cheating!"

"I am? How?"

She reached up and put his hand against her head. "You're counting in your spiky bangs!"

"I was not!"

"You were!"

"Alright, whatever you say, little girl. Now, how about we get to that paperwork done?"

The two of them worked on the papers, talking about whatever came to mind. The more they talked, the more Eva thought that something was odd. When all the paperwork was done, Eva finally realized what was wrong. She smelled the shoulder of his shirt. Why didn't the cigarette smoke smell as bitter as usual? She looked back at Havoc and was about to ask him, but he stood up and ran past her. "Wait, Havoc!"

"Sorry Eva, I've got things to do."

"Havoc!"

"See you later, little girl! Hope we get time to talk tomorrow! I enjoyed being with you!"

She smiled, and the sweet smelling smoke faded from her thoughts. The only thing she focused on was the warm feeling, as if she swallowed a mouthful of soup.

/

Kaitlin took off her cat ears and stuffed them into her backpack as they entered Central City. For some reason that Armstrong had not explained yet, they were leaving Central Command for a bit and were roaming the streets. "So, what are we doing?

"I am teaching you how to analyze your surroundings."

"Couldn't you give me a piece of paper and tell me to find the item? That's what Eva does."

"Nothing can replace doing it in real life. I want you to look around and see things that are normally overlooked."

Kaitlin stopped walking and stared down an alley.

"For example, that women staring longingly at those apples. You can assume that she'll try to steal them."

"Armstrong…"

"As a military man—or woman—you need to be aware of everything around you."

"Armstrong…"

"And always look up. That's the flaw with humans. We're the top of everything, so we never think to look up and—"

"ARMSTRONG!"

"What?"

"There's a dead guy in the alley."

"Hmm?" Armstrong walked over to Kaitlin and peered down the alley. Sure enough, there was a man with black hair and a yellow jacket lying on the ground. "He might not be dead. You should probably stay away though—" Kaitlin ran down the alley and to the man. She took out her knife and rested a hand on the sword around her waist, just in case.

She put her fingers against his neck, under his jaw. She felt his pulse thump against her fingers. "He's still alive!"

Armstrong made his way into the alley and crotched next to him as Kaitlin pulled his head up into her lap, like she saw in a movie. It was slightly awkward for her, having a boy's head on her lap, but at least his head wasn't on the ground. She looked down at him. He looked old, perhaps about nineteen.

Armstrong lightly slapped his cheek. "He's out cold."

"Smelling salts!" Kaitlin suddenly said. "That would wake him up!"

"We don't have those."

Kaitlin dug around in her backpack and took out a chocolate bar that she stole from Eva. She took a quick bite out of it for herself and held it under the boy's nose. His nose twitched as he smelled the food. He gently took her wrist and moved the bar into his mouth, taking large bites. When all the food was gone, he sat up and opened his eyes slightly. It wasn't much, and his narrow eyes still looked closed, but it apparently was enough for him to see. He looked at Kaitlin. She smiled awkwardly as he stared at her. He gently took her hand in both of his, holding his hand close to him. "Does the pretty girl have more food?" he said.

Armstrong had the sudden urge to punch him and leave him to rot in the alley. However, on the request of Kaitlin, they took the starved man to a restaurant and ordered a large, hearty bowl of soup for him. When it came, he took the bowl in his hands and raised it to his lips. He downed the whole bowl in large, loud slurps. He gave a sigh of contentment and put the empty bowl down. "Man, that soup was good! I feel revitalized! Can I have some more, perhaps some pasta?"

"Of course not." Armstrong said, glaring at the man.

He hung his head, frowning.

Kaitlin looked at him. "I'm kinda hungry, Armstrong. And I saw someone walk by with some spaghetti and meatballs. It looked good."

"Of course, Kaitlin—"

"Kaitie."

"—you may have some pasta!"

The boy lighted up as Armstrong ordered two bowls of pasta and bowed to Kaitlin. "Thank you Miss Kaitlin! Or Katie?"

"Katie."

"Thank you Miss Katie!"

"No miss."

"Thank you, Katie! Was that good?"

She giggled. "Yeah. Now, can I have your name? It's only fair since you know mine."

"Of course Katie! My name is Ling Yao!"

"Why were you fainted in an alley, Mr. Ling Yao?"

"I was hungry."

"I figured. You downed the soup quickly."

Ling took a piece of bread and took a large bite. "Uh-huh. I don't have place to stay right now, so I'm just wondering around. I'm also broke, so I don't have enough money to buy food. Ah, but luckily some kind souls stumbled upon me and granted me food." He took Kaitlin's hand. "I am eternally grateful to you, Katie."

"That's nice." She said, pulling her hand out of his grip, blushing. She'd never been this close to a boy before. Well, not when they were actually acknowledging her presence.

"Where are your parents, Mr. Yao?" Armstrong asked.

"My dad is in the capital, and my mother is with him."

"We're in the capital, Ling…" Kaitlin said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant the capital of Xing!" he smiled and took another bite of bread.

"Wow…that's…that's really far away…"

"Yep! I just came here a…a while ago!"

"Where are your immigrant papers, Mr. Yao?" Armstrong asked. He was not happy with the boy's flirting with his student.

Ling's face paled and a cool sweat sprouted on his face. That was a threat. He could go to jail. He didn't want to go to jail! The food there was horrible!

"Don't worry about Armstrong, Ling. He looks mean and scary, but he's really nice and funny. His humor has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

"Actually, it hasn't…you haven't met my big sister…"

"Ah! That's a relief!" Ling said happily. He didn't have to worry about him killing him. The pasta was placed in front of them, and Ling eagerly dug into his share while Armstrong and Kaitlin ate slower. "So, how do you two know each other? You guys don't look related."

"We're not. And how can you see, aren't your eyes closed? They are closed right? It's really hard to tell…you've got tiny eyes…Well, tiny from Amestris standards."

"Yeah, I keep my eyes closed a lot. Some people say my eyes are shifty, so I'm very sensitive about them."

"How can you see?"

"The people of Xing are taught to learn to feel the movement of life called chi. I can see your chi, so know where I'm headed and where people are. Every living thing has chi. Of course, I keep my eyes open a bit, just so I can see normally."

"Wow…and that seems hard…"

He shrugged. "You get used to it."

"Anyways, Armstrong is my teacher."

"Teacher? Of what?"

"Alchemy and the military. Armstrong is a State Alchemist."

Ling perked up. "Really?"

Kaitlin took a bite of her pasta. "It's hard to believe, I know. He's a great Alchemist, and he's brilliant, but he doesn't act like it."

"So…you know a lot, Mr. Armstrong?"

"About Alchemy, yes."

"Would you happen to know something about—"

He was broken off as Kaitlin stole his sword. "This is cool…"

"Ah! Give it back!" Ling abandoned his food for an instant and leaned forward, trying to grab the sword.

"It's heavy…"

"That's so it can easily cleave through bodies! Give it back!"

She handed the sword back and went back to her pasta. "Can you use it?"

"Of course!"

"How well?"

"Very well."

"Maybe you could teach me how to use a sword. I want to use one, but Armstrong doesn't know how to use it. You can probably teach me."

"I could."

She looked at him. "Will you?"

"Anything thing for a pretty girl!"

Armstrong glared at the boy.

"Pretty?"

"Yeah! You have very nice eyes! There's a lot of colors." He leaned in close, opening up his gray eyes fully.

Armstrong wrapped an arm around Kaitlin, picking up both of the bowls. "We must depart, Mr. Yao!"

"Ah—wait!"

Armstrong ran out of the restaurant, but came back shortly after to get a plastic dish for their food and to pay for the meal. He looked around the restaurant, but the boy was gone. Kaitlin looked around, frowning. He was a nice kid…she would've loved to spend more time with him. Suddenly, she saw something fall out of the corner of her eye. She looked at Armstrong, and picked up the paper.

'If you want to learn more, meet me in the alley where you found me at eight.'

Kaitlin smiled and looked up, wondering where the mysterious Ling Yao was hiding.

And this chapter is probably why this is rated M…Oh well!

I actually went communal bathing in Japan, so I'm speaking from experience. It's actually fun!

Inspirations: The song PoP Goes My Heart from Music and Lyrics (inspired the title)

My friends on devaintART who inspired the teenagers.


	5. Chapter 5

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 5

"Here." Kaitlin said, handing Ling a container. Ling eagerly grabbed it and took a few quick bites. It was spaghetti. So good! "There's a meatball in there too." She added.

He swallowed a large mouthful. "Thank you, Katie!"

"You're teaching me how to fight. This is nothing." They had come up with a simple agreement. Ling would teach Kaitlin how to fight, and she gave him food. Their agreement had been kept for two weeks, and Kaitlin was looking forward to it continuing.

"Sorry to tell you, but this will be the last time that we practice together."

Kaitlin's mouth dropped. "What?"

Ling scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I can't stay in one place for long. I came here with a purpose, and I'm keeping to it."

"But—"

"Sorry…" he said sadly, but there was a bit of finality to it.

Kaitlin opened her mouth to debate more, but she closed it and nodded. There was no use arguing; it would accomplish nothing. "I understand…"

He frowned and kissed her cheek quickly. "Don't be so sad! We'll meet again, I'm sure!"

"Uh…"

"Uh?"

"Uh…"

"Katie?"

"Uh…"

"Why are you doing that?"

"You kissed my cheek…"

"So?"

"You kissed my cheek…"

"What about it?"

"You kissed my cheek…"

"You're doing that repeating thing again."

"Sorry…kinda…shocked…"

Ling laughed, and scratched behind his head, his pink cheeks hidden in the dark. "Well…it was nice meeting you, Kat. Maybe we'll meet again." Ling walked away.

"See ya…" Kaitlin walked a couple yards before freezing. "Wait a minute…Kat?"

Ling was out of sight though, so she didn't have time to ask him about the nickname. She sighed and ran back to the dorms. She walked into the room and found everyone sitting on the floor in their pajamas, ready to write to their family. "I didn't miss talking time, did I?" she said, removing her leather jacket and putting on the hook. She was referring to the talks the four of them had every night as they—minus Namori—wrote home to their parents. It was sort of exciting for them to tell what had happened, even things so simple were exciting when they were told to friends.

"Nope." Namori said, sketching on her paper. "We just started. You can go first though."

"Why don't you start by telling us about how you broke up with your boyfriend?" Eva asked, chewing on her pen cap.

Kaitlin sighed, putting her sword on the bed. "I didn't break up with him."

"So there is a boyfriend, eh?" Mia smirked. She knew it.

"No there isn't."

"Quick response, defensive." Eva pointed out. She read enough books to know about dialogue and when things were implied.

Kaitlin sighed. "He's just teaching me how to fight with a sword."

Mia smirked. "Phallic symbol." Eva hit Mia. "Kidding, kidding…Kinda"

Kaitlin rolled her eyes. "You're all perverts…"

"So, who was this guy?" Namori asked, looking up from her sketch of Kimblee.

She sighed. Resistance was futile. She was outnumbered. "His name is Ling Yao."

"That's Xingese, right?"

"Yeah." Kaitlin and Mia said at the same time.

"Is he cute?" Eva asked.

"He's too old for me."

"I thought you were a gold-digger?"

"Well, it's kinda different. I mean, I'm only fifteen, and he's like…nineteen, probably."

"Actually, I'm only fifteen." A voice said from the window. The girls froze and turned to look towards the window. A boy with white sweats and a yellow and white jacket kneeled in the window. He smiled at the girls while they all stared at him, completely silent.

Finally, Namori gained her voice and squealed. "Pervert!"

"No wait! I'm not a—" he was interrupted by a rain of pillows that came towards him. He tried to shove the pillows away while still keeping his balance on the window.

Kaitlin regained the ability to move and not stand around in shock. "Wait! Stop!" she ran towards the window and pulled Ling inside. "What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving."

"Well…I was…"

"But?"

"I have no money and no home."

"So why are you in our room?" Namori asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Everyone except Kaitlin was in their pajamas, and they were not happy that there was a boy looking at them, especially since none of them were partial to wearing bras in bed.

Ling looked around at the teenage girls. He swallowed, sweat forming on the back of his neck. If his answer wasn't good enough, he was certain that he would be torn apart. "I—I thought that Katie, the kind and adorable person that dear Katie is, would be nice enough to let me stay with her." He took her hand in both of his and held it close to his chest. "Please?"

"Well…" Kaitlin looked at the girls. "Please? He's really nice and he won't make a mess, I promise." She pleaded as if pleading to her parents to keep a dog.

"Fine…" Mia said. "You're too cute to say no to."

"I know, isn't she?" Ling said. He hugged Kaitlin and kissed her cheek. "Thank you!"

"But if he keeps doing those things, we'll kick him out."

"Right. No kissing."

Eva raised an eyebrow at him and turned to Kaitlin. "Are you sure that he's not your boyfriend?"

"Positive. Now, where is he going to sleep?" Kaitlin quickly said, hoping that no one would question her.

"Floor. We have cupboards full of comforters, sheets, and pillows." Eva said, opening up the large wardrobe and pulling out some bed items. "It's so huge, you'd think there was another world behind it."

"Can't I sleep in one of your beds?" Ling asked, pointing to Kaitlin's bed.

Namori shook her head, wondering if he knew the bed was Kaitlin's, or if it was just a lucky guess. "We're sleeping in the beds."

Ling was silent for a couple of seconds. "Can't I sleep in one of your beds?"

"Aw…" Mia said, making her way over to him. She patted his cheek, causing him to wince slightly, expecting a slap. "He's a cute pervert…But no."

"Awwww…" Ling whined. "But the floor is cold…"

"But the people in the beds are cold hearted." Mia smirked at Ling's horrified face.

"But—" he looked down as Eva made a makeshift bed for him. "But—" he looked at Kaitlin, hoping that she'd back him up. She shook her head at him. "But—oh fine…" he lied down on the makeshift bed and curled up in a ball, pouting slightly.

Eva patted his head. "Now," she started and went over to her nightstand. She pulled out the gun Hawkeye gave her and turned around, showing the empty gun to him. "If you get in the bed with Kaitlin—" she pushed the magazine in "—or Namori for that matter—" she gripped the top of the gun and pulled it forward and back, cocking it "—we'll kill you."

Mia took out her knife and flipped it in her hand. "And we aren't kidding."

"Guys…" Kaitlin said, rubbing her forehead. "As nice as this whole mama bear thing is, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

The girls looked at each other and walked over to her, showing her how each of them towered over her.

"I'm a figuratively big girl."

"Uh-huh…" each of them said in unison.

Kaitlin rolled her eyes. "I need a bath…" she muttered, opening up the opaque glass door near the far end of the room and walked in. "Feel free to talk without me."

"We mean well, you know!" Namori called, but the door was already shut. She sighed and returned to her picture while the other girls wrote letters home. She was drawing Kimblee. She met him only briefly, but she found him so interesting. She thought that since Mia said he was a criminal, he would be blunt and rude. She thought that he would yell and curse at her when she crashed into him, but he didn't. He was polite and gentle with her. He also didn't judge her for her background. He stared at her for a moment or two, but it quickly faded. He didn't seem to care what race she was. She smiled to herself. That never happened before. Maybe she was more interested in that than his actual appearance, though he was quite attractive.

Mia glanced at Namori. She almost groaned at the drawing. Namori was quick to say that she thought Mia's teacher was as cute as Mia thought. Mia would've brushed it off, but then Namori started sketching Kimblee. Whenever a girl sketches a guy that means that she's claimed him. Mia had been drawing Kimblee for a while, three days after she met him to be exact. She had claimed him. She was not going to let Namori weasel her way into Kimblee's life. She seemed had already started, practicing with Edward outside Kimblee's window (which Edward only chose because he liked the fact that there was one, large tree there to practice on) and Kimblee would glance out the window and stare at Namori from time to time (only to see if he could throw a stapler bomb out the window and land on Namori's head) and comment that she was a hard worker (because he loves women like that, and he thought that if she and him ever fought each other, it would be quite enjoyable). Well, Namori had been practicing a lot in order to make herself stronger, but it still angered Mia that she was gaining Kimblee's attention through her studies. Well, that could go both ways.

Mia started studying constantly. Every waking moment she read books and practiced Alchemy and every sleeping moment she dreamed of Transmutation Circles and elements. She was learning more by the day, more than Kimblee expected of her. She was awarded with smiles, praise, and the occasional pat on the head whenever he felt that he could afford a quick contact with the girl (as he still avoided making contact with her, not wanting to get another boner or have her feel like he was harassing her). However, she sacrificed sleep for learning. She stayed up to or past midnight, and woke up at seven or eight. It took all of her energy to stay awake, and she was losing energy as the days went on. She was glad that Kimblee took a break from fighting. A simple shove to the shoulder, and she would crash down to the ground, exhausted.

The conversations soon came to a close and everyone fell asleep one by one, Mia finally falling asleep at 3:57. Mia was then rudely awoken four hours later, everyone expecting her to make breakfast. Mia gave everyone cereal and pounded her head on the ground, exhausted.

Namori put a hand on her shoulder. "You should—"

"Not stay up so late, I know, I know…" she muttered.

"You know, it is possible to get a full education without cramming." Kaitlin said.

Everyone at the table laughed at the comment. "You're only a freshman. You know not the horrors that later years have."

"It can't be that bad."

"It can." Mia said, looking at her.

"And it is." Eva added, even though she was just a year older than Kaitlin.

Namori nodded in agreement.

"Oh…" Kaitlin said, poking at the cereal, losing some of her hunger. "At least I'm not in school right now…" Ling made to grab Kaitlin's bowl, but she slapped his hand with her spoon. "Bad Ling."

"I'm hungry, Kat! And you looked like you were done!"

"Kat?" Eva said, looking at Ling.

"You can't be that hungry." Kaitlin said, not noticing the nickname for the second time.

"But I am! I'm starving!"

"You can eat when we're gone. But be quiet."

"And please put a shirt on." Eva added.

Ling bowed his head in shame. "I don't have one."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "You don't have one?"

Namori looked at him, noting the thin layer of dirt and frayed edges. "You don't have any clothes other than those, don't you?"

Ling nodded in shame.

The girls quickly moved their chairs away from him.

"Come on! I washed a couple of times!"

The girls moved further away from him.

"Come back please…"

"Only if you shower and get new clothes!" Eva said.

"But I don't have clean clothes!"

"Katie will get you some!"

"I will?"

"You will!"

"Alright, I will!"

"And you take a shower, Mr. Yao!"

"But there's food here!"

"I don't care!"

"But—"

"Now!" all the girls yelled.

Ling slowly made his way to the shower while everyone else finished their breakfast and got dressed. Kaitlin knocked on the bathroom door. "I'm going to get you some military clothes, alright?"

"Sure…"

Kaitlin quickly ran to Central Barracks, found some small clothes in the laundry—most likely belonging to Fuery—and ran back to where Ling was waiting. She tossed Ling some clothes. He was wearing his normal clothes temporarily.

"Are you going to leave?" Ling asked, removing his jacket.

"Not yet. I need to get some books first. I won't look, promise."

"Alright…" Kaitlin turned around and stuffed books into her backpack. Ling slowly removed his pants and slipped on the military pants, careful that Kaitlin didn't turn around, as he didn't have any boxers that weren't completely soiled. Ling was zipping up his pants when he froze. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I think it was that big person…You know…The guy with the bald head with a curly cue."

She froze. "Armstrong. Crap! You need to get out of here and get dressed!"

"I can't dress that fast!"

Kaitlin grabbed the military jacket off the floor and ran over to Ling, trying to get the jacket on him. Ling grabbed the jacket, and slipped it on one arm, his other arm buttoning his pants. Kaitlin tried to move away, but immediately was pulled back, crashing into his chest as if she was attached to Ling. She looked down, eyes wide. "I think my gypsy skirt got caught!"

"Crap!" Ling pulled the skirt frantically, but their clothes were stuck together. "I'm sorry about this!" he folded up Kaitlin's tank top, so he could see more of how they were stuck together. His eyes widened in shock. "Your stringy things are caught on my pants!"

"Hurry up! Armstrong will probably be here any moment!" she said, beginning to panic, her cheeks red.

Ling noticed that he accidently buttoned one of her strings to his pants. He struggled with his pants button, panicking slightly. He tried to untie the knot of the skirt. Kaitlin put her hands on his shoulders, brushing the jacket off of his one arm. She pushed her hands against his shoulders, trying to move their bodies as far away as possible. Ling frantically pulled on the fabric of her skirt, causing the seam to split slightly.

"Stop!" Kaitlin cried out, panicking. "Don't—"

'Rip it' was going to be the words following. However, the door opened before she could say anything else and Armstrong stepped in, eyes wide as he took in the scene before him. It looked like Ling was trying to take advantage of little Kaitlin. Her white tank top was folded up, revealing most of her stomach, but still covering her chest. The man was shirtless, and he had just succeeded in unbuttoning his pants, and was working on Kaitlin's, trying to remove the skirt that covered the button of her jeans by untying the bunched knot of the skirt tied at her side. Her cheeks were bright red, and she was pushing against him, trying to get him to go away. She was even pleading to him to stop.

Of course, that's not what really happened.

Ling was a gentleman. He did not want Kaitlin hurt. Ling was just trying to free Kaitlin by any means necessary. To rape Kaitlin was the last thing on his mind. Kaitlin was pushing against him to give a better angle for him to work. She was just trying to help him.

Of course, Armstrong didn't know that.

"Stand aside, Ms. Kaitlin," Armstrong said, putting large gauntlets adorned with small spikes on his hands, "and I'll show this _shameful _ruffian the _anger_ that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

/

Mia slumped into Kimblee's room, finding him reading a file…again. "Morning, Mia." Kimblee said, closing the file. "How was your night?"

"Alright…" she said, rubbing her eyes a bit. "How was yours?"

"Oh, it was excellent." It really was. He had finally managed to gather enough money to afford a couple of rounds with two beautiful hookers. He had forgotten how good sex was. He also forgot how good it was to cause two women to explode. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He didn't forget how it felt to blow people up, though he only experienced it in his mind. Performing the act for real was exciting for him. Now he wouldn't be turned on by Mia and Namori anymore…or so he hoped, at least. There probably would be some remaining feelings, but it wasn't as if he'd be turned on by her working as easily as he was. He put the file back into his drawer, Mia's eyes following his movements.

"You know…" she muttered. "I really want to know what you're reading all the time."

"All you have to do is ask, Mia."

"I didn't realize it was that simple." Mia said, sitting in a chair next to his desk.

"I don't have that many secrets, Mia. And, to answer your question, what I'm reading is your file."

She blinked. "I have a file?"

"You have a name, don't you? If you have a name, you have a file. Everything about you is on this file."

Mia's face paled. "Everything?"

"Yes. Your art, and that terrible excuse for an essay. Though, I must say that I liked the message. Fighting for what's right, for what you believe in, even if that means killing. You seem to have quite the sadistic side." He smirked.

She blushed a bit. "Well…"

"I'm not condoning your actions, Mia. I have no problem if you enjoy pain, for I am the same."

"Really?" though, she already had an idea, considering he was in prison. He didn't seem too shaken up by being in prison, which meant that he went there on his own volition.

"Besides, I discovered your sadistic side much earlier. You realize that when you were practicing stabbing with your knife, you were smiling widely the entire time?"

"I was?" Mia touched her cheeks.

Kimblee nodded and stood up. "But, we don't have to talk about that now. Now, I'm going to teach you about the composition of a human."

"Uh-huh…"

"Now, the body is mostly water, but it is filled with other elements such as carbon and the like. You've already memorized the composition of a human body, I bet."

"Yes…" she saw the numbers and elements flash in front of her.

He smiled at her, walking to the door and closing it, talking as he did so. "Smart girl. Anyways, in a human, there is a specific pattern that the body has. Each element is linked in its own specific pattern. If you tamper with that—" Kimblee smirked, knowing that his own Alchemy surrounded that fact. "—the result would be disastrous. Now—" there was a small squeal and a thumping sound. Kimblee raised an eyebrow and turned around. Mia was standing on the desk. His desk. "No. That is not acceptable. Get off." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground. "Off."

Mia shook her head.

He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground again. "Mia. Off."

"Spider."

Kimblee blinked. "Excuse me?"

She pointed a trembling finger to her seat. "Spider. Big spider. It crawled on my lap." Mia was trying her hardest to not scream. She didn't want to scream in front of Kimblee and embarrass herself.

Kimblee raised an eyebrow and followed her finger. On the ground, near her seat was a spider. Kimblee grabbed one of the long legs and held it to eye level. The dark spider squirmed between his fingers, legs flailing to get out of his grip. "Dark brown…small body, but long legs…" Kimblee muttered, analyzing its structure. He pulled on one of the struggling legs. "About four inches, I'd say." He let the spider go, and it crawled over his hand. Kimblee tilted his hand, allowing it to crawl over him, not noticing Mia's growing look of dread. "Yes…_Tegenaria duellica_, if I'm not mistaken." He glanced at Mia. "Giant House Spider is the common name."

"Kill it!"

Kimblee raised an eyebrow at her. "Hm?"

"Kill it now!"

Kimblee glanced at it and at Mia. He grabbed one of the legs and thrust the struggling spider into Mia's face. She fell back onto the desk and moved back quickly. Kimblee continued calmly walking forward, keeping the spider an inch from her nose. She squealed as the spider's legs touched her nose, and it tried to grip her skin and crawl away from Kimblee. The desk ended and she fell to the floor. She groaned and rubbed her head. She opened her eyes to find the spider in front her. She stared into the many dark eyes of the spider, too scared to move. The spider tried to crawl out of Kimblee's fingers and onto Mia's nose.

"You know," Kimblee said, "it's more scared of you than you are of it." Though he doubted it, considering how terrified she was about the sight of the insect.

"Just kill it! Please!"

He was planning on killing it after he found it. However, watching her squirm was quite amusing. "You know, I never understood arachnophobia. Most spiders are harmless. There's no venom in this spider." He said, trailing the spider away from her nose and to her forehead. Mia pinned herself in a corner, trying to escape those struggling legs that reached out to her. "Would you mind explaining it to me, Ms. Mia?"

"They're icky!"

"Icky does not mean scary."

"I don't care! Kill it nii-nii!"

"What?"

"Kill it, Kimblee!" Mia corrected, blushing as she confused the man for her brother. Kimblee squashed the body of the spider between two fingers and dropped it on her head. Mia squealed and jumped away from it, quickly retreating back to her seat. "Kimblee?" she breathed after a while, her heart rate slowing.

"Yes?"

"Could you…could you never do that again?"

"Yes, Mia. I am sorry for that." Not really though. "I just found your reaction so amusing. Like you, I am sadistic. If you don't misbehave, I won't drop the spider that's building a nest between the bookshelf and the corner on your head."

Mia paled. "There—there are more spiders?"

Kimblee smirked and turned to a board, drawing some diagrams. "Now, to continue with the lesson. The body—or any object, really—has a makeup that cannot be tampered with. If you move a couple of atoms around, the result is catastrophic. My Alchemy for instance, involves tampering with the makeup of an object." Kimblee turned around to see what Mia's reaction was, but found her asleep, her head resting in the crook of one arm. Kimblee blinked and walked over to her, poking her shoulder. Mia did not budge. "Is it possible to fall asleep that fast?" he muttered.

He was about to wake her up, but stopped. He found some paperclips and linked them together. He pressed his palms against the paperclips, allowing normal Alchemy to change them, forming what looked like a spider. He attached a bit of string to it and rested it on Mia's arm. He moved his chair and sat down behind her, ready to pull it slowly when she woke up.

/

Ling knew that in order to gain Immortality, he'd have to bow to a couple of peasants in order to get what he wanted. He was more than willing to do that. However, he was not expecting to literally bow down in front of giant man willing to crush his head like a grape. "I'm sorry." Ling said again to him. He was bowing on the ground, staring at the floor. He had managed to count all of the grains of wood in the floorboard while apologizing.

"What were you doing in Kaitlin's room?" Armstrong asked. The only reason that he didn't unleash the full power of the Armstrong Alchemy that had been passed down the line for generations was because he didn't want poor Kaitlin to be traumatized…moreso than she already was for having this man try to take advantage of her.

"I told you, I just needed a place to stay the night." Ling said, turning his head to look at Kaitlin. She was sitting on her bed, head bowed, shamed and embarrassed enough for the both of them. Ling frowned. It was really sad to see her like this.

"But why here? Can't you get a place elsewhere?"

"No. I have no money, no clothes, nothing."

"Armstrong." Kaitlin stood up. "I was just helping him. You wouldn't want me to just let some guy suffer when I could help him, would you?"

"Well…" Armstrong had no response. Ling slowly sat up, looking at Kaitlin, smiling a bit.

"Let me just kick Ling out, and we can start up our teaching. I'll be there in twenty minutes, alright?" Kaitlin dragged Ling off the ground and out of the building before Armstrong could yell some more, leading him out into the garden.

"Thank you, Kat, for all that you did—"

Kaitlin slapped him. "Never. Do. That. Again. I do not like being yelled at."

Ling rubbed his cheek. "But it wasn't my fault."

"Yes it was."

"Alright…it was. But, thank you for helping me. You're really nice, Kat."

"By the way, why are you calling me Kat?"

"Because it's your name." Ling said, gathering a bunch of wood.

"No it's not. It's Kaitlin or Katie."

"I like Kat. It's in your name anyways. Kat-lin and Kat-ie."

"You're missing a couple I's there…And what are you doing?"

Ling expertly lit a match and threw it into the pile of woods, blowing on them. He had gathered a lot of damp wood, causing a lot of smoke. "I'm building a signal fire!"

"Uh huh…" Kaitlin said, watching as Ling used his jacket to send up puffs of smoke. "You really expect that to work?"

"Young lord!" an old man said, dropping down from a tree down to his level. He got on one knee and bowed to Ling. A younger man, perhaps Ling's age, crouched down next to the older man and bowed.

"Wow. That was quick…" Kaitlin said. She then blinked. "Wait, what did he mean by 'young lord'?"

"That's a title of mine."

"A…Title?"

"Yeah."

"So…you're like a prince or something?"

"Yep! I'm the twelfth son of the emperor of Xing!"

Kaitlin stared at him. "You're…you're serious."

"Yeah!"

Kaitlin stared at him, trying to get it to compute in her head. "You can't even feed yourself. How can you expect to run a country some day?"

"I've got some plans."

"And you're the twelfth son?"

"Yep! I know it seems like a lot…"

"It is. Your mom must be tired."

"My mother only had one child, just me. See, the emperor of Xing takes the daughter of each head of a tribe as a wife."

"Wow…And you're going to…take that up someday?"

"Hopefully. However…" he took Kaitlin's hand. "There's always room for some commoners. You want to be my wife?"

Kaitlin blinked and slapped him. "No."

Immediately after the slap, Kaitlin found a kunai pressed against her neck, one of her arms held to the side to keep her from attacking. Kaitlin's eyes widened as she stared into the coal black eyes of the young man.

"Lan Fan!" Ling said, his voice scolding. Lan Fan slowly pulled his kunai away and took a couple of steps back. "Sorry about her…" oh, Lan Fan was a girl. "They're my bodyguards, they're supposed to be protective of me…"

"I see…So no more slapping."

"Please. They hurt…" Ling rubbed his cheek.

"So…you leaving this time, or are you going to pop into our apartment again?"

"This time I'm leaving." Ling leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Kaitlin's. He broke contact as quickly as he made it, smiling. "See you later." Ling and his bodyguards quickly left, leaving Kaitlin standing there.

"You just kissed me!" Kaitlin said after a minute, Ling long out of earshot. Kaitlin stood there for a second more and shook her head. "Weird kid…gotta stop thinking about his lips…and the rest of him too…" she drew a Transmutation Circle on the ground and caused a stream of dirt to snuff the fire. She shook her head as she walked into Armstrong's office.

"The boy?" he asked.

"Gone with his Xingese bodyguards." Kaitlin said, sitting in a chair across from Armstrong.

Armstrong blinked. "Bodyguards?"

"Yeah. He has them. You know, Xingese people look really alike." She said, changing the subject. She had a feeling that Ling wouldn't want to spread his background around.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Ling had black hair and gray eyes, and he had a girl with him that had black hair and black eyes. Maybe it's an east thing…"

Armstrong nodded and froze. Mustang had told him about the girls who were out east…he remembered the face of one of his subordinates, her crisp black hair and coal black eyes. Could it be that the beloved Ross…"Kaitlin!"

"Yeah?"

"I must go!"

"Go?"

"Yes! I must go east!"

"Why?"

"Because Edward Elric is about to break his automail, that reckless boy!"

"He's about to?"

"Yes! Be a good girl, Kaitlin!" Armstrong ran out of the room.

Kaitlin stared at the door. She sighed and rubbed her head. "Two insane people…"

/

Namori froze while she was drawing a Transmutation Circle and looked up at Kimblee's window. "Did you hear a scream?"

"Nope." Edward said, kicking dirt over the Circle. "Do it again."

Namori sighed and stood up, facing Edward as he walked a couple paces away. Edward clapped his hands and slammed them into the ground. Namori quickly drew a Transmutation Circle on the ground and pressed her hands around the perimeter, grabbing the spear that formed. Edward charged at Namori, wielding his own spear. He yelled, jumping the air and stabbing at Namori. Namori quickly rolled out of the way and blocked a swing from Edward. She pushed him away and swung at him. Edward easily blocked. Namori quickly moved in a circle, dragging her spear on the ground.

"Come on Namori!" Edward yelled. "Stay on the offensive!"

Namori charged, still dragging her spear, aiming for his feet. Edward jumped over the spear and stabbed at her. She quickly ducked and moved her body to the side. Namori charged like this three more times before abandoning that tactic, moving in a smaller circle around Edward.

Edward raised an eyebrow at her actions. "What are you doing? Fight!" Edward stabbed at her. Namori jumped away and ran a couple paces away, dropping her spear. She slammed her hands into the ground.

Edward's face paled with realization. He was standing in the middle of a giant Transmutation Circle. Giant spikes raised out of the ground, the ends blunted as so not to hurt Edward. Edward abandoned his spear and nimbly jumped on the sides of the spikes, making his way to the large tree. He clapped his hands and pressed them against a spike, bringing out a large pole. He grabbed a branch of a tree and swung himself up into the branches, running along a thicker branch towards Namori. Namori quickly fell to the ground and drew another circle, causing a small pole to rise out of the ground, half the size of her spear. Edward jumped out of the tree with a yell, swinging his pole at Namori's head. Namori ducked, blocking the pole with her own and stabbing his leg with her spear. Edward fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, groaning.

Namori's eyes widened in realization. She didn't mean to stab him. It just…came to her, like a reaction embedded in her head from a time past. She dropped her spear and ran to his side. "I'm so sorry, Edward! I didn't mean—I mean it was an—I'm sorry!"

"Damn, girl…I'm fine." He sat up, rubbing his head. "You just knocked me off balance is all."

"But I stabbed you!"

"Yeah…I guess you did." Edward said, rolling up his pants leg. Namori's eyes widened as she saw his leg was not flesh and bone, but cold metal, shining in the light. "Good thing you hit this leg, huh?"

"So that's why you're called Fullmetal…it isn't because you're stubborn…it's because of your leg…"

"And arm." Edward said, removing one glove and showing her his metal hand.

"I didn't know…"

"I don't like spreading it around. Secret weapons do no good when you show them off."

"MR. ELRIC!" a voice yelled.

Edward stood up. "Hey Armstrong. What are you—"

Armstrong grabbed his arm tightly, almost crushing the metal. "OH DEAR! YOUR AUTOMAIL IS BROKEN! WE MUST TAKE YOU TO YOUR HOMETOWN TO GET IT REPAIRED STRAIGHTAWAY!"

"Armstrong!" Alphonse yelled as Armstrong dragged the small boy away. "Winry's here…"

"Winry?" Namori asked, watching the large figure of Armstrong disappear.

"She's the one who fixes his automail…"

Namori looked up at the metal boy. "Alphonse? Are you alright? You don't seem as happy as usual."

"Well…see…last night, a friend of ours was killed."

"Oh no…Who did it?"

"Roy Mustang."

Namori's face paled. "That's Eva's teacher…"

"Yeah…she was falsely accused of killing another one of our friends, Mustang's best friend…He got so angry…I guess…"

"I'm sorry…"

Alphonse shook his head. "Well, now that brother's gone, I guess I have to teach you!"

"I suppose."

"You're really good at fighting, and you're quick, but let's see if you can't get faster. No matter what brother says, a good defense is always better than offense, and being able to dodge attacks is the most important part."

/

Eva was walking around Central. She would have to provide the food tomorrow, and she thought that everyone deserved a meal out. She was the only one who was actually receiving any pay. Mostly, she spent it all on candy for herself and her friends (but mostly herself), but she thought that eating at a nice restaurant would be a good change of place. Kaitlin's Xingese boyfriend gave her an idea. Why not eat at a Xingese restaurant? Mia always started drooling whenever she mentioned some of the food that she ate at home. The food had to be good.

Eva stood in front of a restaurant, reading the menu that was posted outside. She hopped a bit from a sugar rush, trying to concentrate on seeing if the food was slightly edible or not.

There was a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped a bit. "Chill out, little girl, it's me."

Eva smiled and turned around. "Havoc!" she hugged him.

Havoc laughed and patted her head. "I haven't been gone for long, just an hour or two."

"Yeah, but everyone's leaving. Falman's been on vacation for a while, Brenda left yesterday for vacation, Kain and Hawkeye are filing to leave, and you've been popping in and out for a while! It's always just me and Mustang, and he complains a lot that you gave me your shirt."

Havoc didn't bother hiding the smirk of satisfaction. That's what he gets for stealing his girlfriends and forcing him to break up with another of his girlfriends that Mustang didn't steal! He wouldn't be surprised if Mustang knew Havoc had a girlfriend that Mustang couldn't steal and made him transfer over to Central. Sneaky bastard…

Eva looked at him, tilting her head to the side. "What's with the flowers?"

Havoc looked at the flowers tucked into his arm. "Oh, I have a date."

"Date?" Why something seem to sink to her stomach?

"Yep. There's this beautiful girl named Solaris."

"What's she like?"

"Long black hair—" strike one against her. Eva had brown hair, the most common color and not very desirable. It wasn't that long or styled either. "—exotic purple eyes—" Brown eyes. How boring. "—a big chest—" C-cup. A good start, but not good enough. She didn't wear many shirts or bras that showed off her chest either so that was a strike against her. "—and a nice personality." Eva thought she might have a nice personality. She was fun at least. Ha! Three strikes, but not quite out! "Oh, and she's really sexy too." Never mind. Sixteen-year-olds cannot be sexy, no matter how hard they try.

"She sounds nice." Eva said, trying to hide the contempt that was somehow inside of her.

"She is. She's really interested in my work too. That's always good. Not many civilians like the military."

"I like your work even though you never tell me anything other than how to forge paperwork."

"Aw, thanks, little girl."

"Do you give her a nickname?"

"Solaris? No."

"Yay…" she whispered quietly.

"Yay?"

"Yeah…I'm the only one who you give a nickname to!" she smiled at him.

Havoc blinked and chuckled. "Yeah, you're right…" he never thought about giving a nickname to Solaris, but didn't hesitate to give Eva one. He didn't think Solaris would like if he gave her a nickname. It didn't seem like her. She was nice, but there was something stingy about her. "Well…you're just something special, little girl."

"I know!" she smiled and Havoc laughed. Eva walked with Havoc for a while, the two of them talking about anything that came to mind. After more talking, Havoc took out the cigarette in his mouth and snuffed it against the heel of his shoe. "You leaving?" Eva said sadly.

"My date. I didn't think she would like me smoking."

"I don't mind. I've gotten used to it. It's not a good habit, but it's not that bad…"

Havoc chuckled and patted her head. "See you later, Eva."

"See ya!" she waved as he walked to sit next to his date.

"Who was that?" Solaris asked.

"Just a friend. She's an intern where I work. I hope I haven't kept you waiting long." Havoc said.

"Not at all. Now…what happened at work today?

/

I'm sorry for all my readers for the fact that page breaks did not exist in previous chapters…I hope that now that it's fixed, people will find it easier to read…

And did you notice…there was some plot in there! That's right! Plot! A lot of shit is about to happen!


	6. Chapter 6

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile  
Part 6

Eva placed a small stack of pancakes on the table. "Eat up. I'll wake the lug."  
"Thanks Eva!" Namori said. She stuffed a bit of the still-hot pancakes in her mouth before turning back to Kaitlin. "Anyways, I'm really sorry that Armstrong ran out on you."  
Kaitlin shrugged. "I'm fine. I'll just read. No big."  
Namori put her hand on top of Kaitlin's. "Kaitlin, I know that you love to read, but you can't learn from books."  
Kaitlin waved Namori's hand away. "Yes you can. That's what I've been doing. Want me to prove it? Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium—"  
"You know what I mean. I learn more from actually participating in Alchemy than reading about it. Hey, why don't you join me and Alphonse for teaching?"  
"I don't want to impose."  
Namori smiled sweetly. "You won't."  
Kaitlin smiled. "Thanks, Namori." Mia walked into the room, still in her pajamas. "Hey, the lug is up!"  
"Lug?" Mia muttered, rubbing her eyes. She clutched a pillow to her chest and shuffled over to her place at the table, her sleep filled eyes glaring at the people sitting at the table. "I'm a lug?"  
"You're our lug! And I couldn't help but notice that you actually slept this night."  
"Yep. No more cramming for me." Mia said, spreading butter on the warm pancakes. "Kimblee got mad that I was sleeping and made a fake spider crawl up my arm." She shivered. "I hate spiders…"  
"You know…" Kaitlin said, chewing on her pancake, "it's said that you swallow four spiders in a year."  
Mia cringed, imaging a spider crawling into her mouth and down her throat. She gripped and swallowed painfully, as if something was caught in her throat, something with numerous legs and eyes.  
"Myth." Eva said. "No basis of fact."  
Mia slumped forward. "Thank God!"  
"Anyways, on a more appetizing note, we're eating out tonight!"  
Namori sat up, her eyes wide in excitement. Eating out? She never ate out! "Really?"  
Eva nodded. "I figured, yeah, these rations we're given are good, but we deserve some real food. How does Xingese sound?"  
Mia perked up, suddenly wide-awake. "Xingese? What district?"  
"Um…I think Central Xing? The largest district."  
Mia let out a squeal. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes!"  
"Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow." Kaitlin said, sticking a finger in her ear.  
Mia ran back to her room and came out wearing a light blue Xingese shirt with gold borders and a large lotus blossom on her stomach. The sleeves weren't attached to the shirt, but rather clung to her upper arms. Her dark blue pants stopped right below her knees, and there were pink sandals on her feet. Everyone stared at her, blinking. Mia shrugged, cheeks turning a bit pink. "I figured to dress up in Xingese clothes. Might as well, right?"  
"Yeah." Eva said, nodding. They looked cool.  
"Do you have any more of those?" Namori asked. "We can all dress up and go out as Xingese people."  
The other girls agreed, and after woofing down the rest of the pancakes, saw Mia's Xingese wardrobe. "Some of the clothes are a bit…well, commercialized…but I think they're nice. My parents bought these for me when we went to Xing one time, and I thought to bring them with me when we came here…" Mia said, blushing a bit as she realized how stupid it must seem.  
"These are awesome!" Namori said, grabbing the prettiest one, which was somewhat like a kimono.  
"They are cool…girly, but cool." Kaitlin said, picking up a dark purple cheongsam.  
"You think we'll get a discount for wearing these?" Eva asked, examining a floral hairclip.  
"Aren't you paying?" Kaitlin asked, glaring slightly.  
Eva shrugged, pinning the hairclip in her hair. "Money is money, and the less money I pay, the better."  
The three girls laid the outfit they chose on their beds and went to class, eagerly awaiting the end of the day.

Mia opened up the door. "Kimblee…" she froze. There was no Kimblee in the room. He wasn't sitting at his desk, reading her file. He wasn't putting on his military jacket. He wasn't anywhere. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, but Mia quickly flattened them. There was nothing to worry about. She stepped into the room, confident, for why would Kimblee want to hurt her?  
Suddenly, Kimblee swung out from behind the door and raised a knife to stab Mia. Mia screamed a bit and held up her hands to block the knife. He stabbed, cutting her hand slightly. Kimblee pressed the knife against her throat, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back to show more of her neck. Mia froze, her heart beating frantically in her chest and she swallowed, feeling the knife shift slightly against her jugular. What was going on? What should she do? What was he doing? Why would he want to kill her?  
"Dead." Kimblee said and pulled the knife away.  
Mia stared at him, eyes wide in fear. "Wha—"  
"You lost that fight, and therefore, you died. Simple as that." He rolled down the sleeve of his military jacket, showing a knife sheath strapped around his left forearm. He slipped the knife back in the sheath and hid it back in his sleeve. Seeing that Mia still didn't understand, he elaborated. "Fights are not started when someone says 'begin'. Fights are started at random, with no warning. If I had been fighting you for real, you'd be dead. Where's your knife?"  
"Pocket…" Mia muttered, reaching into Kimblee's jacket and pulling out the knife.  
"Keep it on you at all times, not in an article of clothing that can be easily thrown off. Keep it in your boot, in a sheath on your arm, anywhere. And be prepared."  
"I'm already paranoid." Mia muttered. She thought that he would be more caring if he realized that she was already seeing shadows turn into people, and he wouldn't want to put her through more trouble.  
"Good. Be prepared for another attack."  
Needless to say, Mia was not happy with that answer. Suddenly, she looked down, seeing a small ribbon of blood trailing down her hand. "You cut me…"  
Kimblee blinked in surprise. He wasn't actually planning on harming her. Just scare her. "I'm sorry, let me get a bandage for you."  
"No, it's not deep." Mia brought her hand to her face and licked a bit of blood off of her skin.  
Kimblee watched as she lapped the blood off her hand, licking her lips. "That's not sanitary. You need a bandage."  
"It's fine. It'll clot." She stretched out her tongue, bright red with her blood.  
Kimblee grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from her mouth. "Please. I _insist_."  
Mia started, a bit shocked with not only his tone, but with the strength that he held her hand. "Alright…"  
Kimblee relaxed. That was too much for him. Mia slowly licking blood off herself…even if he wasn't as attracted to her as he was before, it was still very, very sexy. He went to his desk, pulling out a bandage. He pressed it against her cut, smoothing out the bandage.  
"Thank you." She said quietly. His touch was so soft…not at all like it was before…  
"You're welcome." He looked out her outfit. "Lotus."  
Mia blinked. "Excuse me?"  
Kimblee pressed his palm against her stomach, causing her to jump slightly from the contact. "You have the pattern of a lotus on your shirt."  
"Oh, yeah. You like lotus flowers?"  
He shrugged. "Somewhat. It's my alternate Alchemist name. The Crimson Lotus."  
Mia tapped her chin in thought. "Crimson Lotus…I've heard of that…it was mentioned in an art class I took…it symbolizes fiery explosions."  
Kimblee smiled. Smart girl. "Exactly."  
Mia slowly lowered her hand, looking up into his eyes. "So your Alchemy…has to do with explosions?"  
Kimblee nodded. He couldn't exactly read her expression on her face. Was she interested, or fearful?  
"But why is your most common Alchemist name 'Crimson Alchemist'?"  
Kimblee noticed a bit of blood still on her hand. He ran his finger across the trail. "What color is blood, Miss Mia?"  
"Crimson red." Mia said after a pause.  
Kimblee smirked and licked the blood off his finger. "Exactly."

Eva tapped her foot on the floor, glaring at her 'teacher'. Mustang was really getting annoying. He insisted on talking to an 'Elizabeth'—though the voice leaking out of the phone sounded a lot like Riza, albeit more feminine—for the entire day. She was stuck reading a book, and not an Alchemy one. She had started reading a book on Alchemy as Mustang asked of her, but Mustang was really annoying her with his constant talking, so she brought out a novel. She read it, commented on the content a couple of times, and brandished the cover in front of Mustang's face. No reaction.  
She sighed and looked around the room, looking for a subordinate. Where was everybody? Why did they all decide to take a vacation at the same time? It was very annoying. She missed everyone. Especially Havoc. He was fun to talk to. Sure, he didn't exactly 'teach' her anything of importance, but he was still very special to her. He was a good friend…and a cute friend.  
Eva poured some jelly beans into her hand ad chewed on them pensively, ignoring Mustang's conversation. His flirting was getting really annoying. Suddenly he stood up and ran out of the room. "Mustang!" Eva yelled, dropping her book and chasing after him. "Where are you going?" Mustang ignored her and ran faster, forcing some people to the side. "I hope everything's all right…" Eva muttered. She sighed. Might as well practice how to use her gun. He'll be back soon. At least…she hoped he would. Something was nagging her, the back of her mind tingling. It was bringing up a fact, an event from months past.  
She swallowed, hoping that it wouldn't come true. Mustang would be safe. She knew it. He was a State Alchemist, practically immortal. Nothing would hurt him.  
Right?

Kimblee pressed himself to the wall as Mustang surged down the hallway. "Someone must be in trouble…" he muttered. Mustang had that air about him, the air that said he would protect his friends no matter what. He should be more careful. That air could be used against him. Maybe it would be. Kimblee shrugged. No use thinking about it now. If he saw Envy roaming the halls, he might tell the Homunculus; that could put in a good word for him that would lead him out onto the field and away from his student.  
Speaking of which, he probably should find Mia. He continued walking down the hall, searching for a windowsill that she might be perched upon. Why did she run off like that? Sure, he mentioned that he would have liked to see if she had practiced drawing her Transmutation Circles. Sure, he might've made a slight jab at her and said that she didn't actually study and was making an excuse that she did study just to please him. But that was no reason for her to run off to get her sketchbook as proof.  
Normally, he wouldn't have much of a problem. However, considering what he had seen in her file, she loved to draw. She would probably have to sift through pages after pages of useless drawings until some Transmutation Circles emerged. He wouldn't be surprised if she was probably drawing something now, procrastinating. She didn't seem happy that he had tortured her with a spider and attacked her within a two day span. This was probably just to spite him.  
There! He saw a bit of a sketchbook poking out from the corner. "Mia, can you please—" he broke off when he realized that before him was not Mia, but that Ishvalan girl, Namori.  
She stood up and bowed to Kimblee, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. "Hello, Mr. Kimblee."  
Kimblee blinked and bowed as well. "Greetings, Miss Namori."  
"Are you looking for Mia too?"  
"Yes, did you see her pass by?"  
Namori nodded. "She was getting her sketchbook back at our apartment. She should be here in five minutes."  
"Great…" he muttered. Might as well leave and find her.  
"You can wait with me, if you want."  
"Hmm?"  
"She owes me something too. I'm waiting for her to bring it."  
He mulled it over in his head. If he stayed with her, he would perhaps get Namori closer to him. She seemed to have that same attitude that Mia had about him. Mia liked him for some reason. She liked to watch him work as well as loving follow him around anywhere he would go. If Namori could get closer to him, she would feel more comfortable about following him somewhere, such as an abandoned wood. It would be much easier to kill her that way. However, what was the point of staying with the girl if he couldn't kill her right then and there?  
"I'm sorry, but I really must go." He started to walk off, but Namori grabbed his wrist. Kimblee turned to look at her. "Can I help you?"  
She turned his wrist over, staring at his palm. "Transmutation Circle…" she muttered.  
"Yes. Is something interesting about it?"  
She blinked and let go of his hand. "My teacher, Edward Elric, and his brother, Alphonse…they can do Transmutations by clapping. They don't have tattoos on your hands though." She then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm assuming that you clap to Transmutate too."  
"It's fine. You are correct. See—" he sat down next to her. Namori tried moving to the side, but the windowsill was narrow. She blushed a bit, feeling their legs touch. Kimblee also noticed the contact, but put it out of his mind. He held out his hands to Namori, showing her the tattoos on his hands. Her eyes widened a bit, taken in the pattern of the tattoos. "—my primary form of Alchemy involves me clapping my hands. I can also do regular Alchemy by putting my hands on either side of an object."  
"That's cool…but what happens if one of your hands is taken away?"  
"In normal circumstances, I would lose that fight."  
"But…?"  
"But I have a secret." Kimblee said, lowering his voice.  
Namori leaned closer to him. "Really?"  
Oh, too easy, too easy! She was strolling right into his hand! Killing her would be much easier than he thought before! He tried to hide his smirk. He could easily picture Namori in his mind, her begging for mercy and screaming in pain as his Alchemy tore her body apart, atom by atom. "See…I have an object…"  
"An object? What does it do?" Namori leaned closer, unconsciously putting a hand on his arm.  
"It magnifies my power. I can do so much more, including only use one of my circles for Alchemy."  
"Cool…But what is it?"  
"A stone. A pebble, really. However, it is made of something special, something filled with a boundless amount of energy."  
"What's it made of?"  
Your brethren, Kimblee thought to himself. Kimblee pressed a finger against his lips. "That's my secret."  
Namori frowned, moving her head closer to his. "You can't tell me?"  
"No. But perhaps…perhaps one day, I could show it to you."  
Her eyes brightened. "Really?" Namori was excited to see his Alchemy.  
"Yes."  
"What's your Alchemy like?"  
Kimblee's voice lowered yet again, becoming huskier. "Like music."  
Namori blinked and leaned closer to him, struggling to hear him. "Music?"  
"Yes. The sounds that my Alchemy makes are music to my ears." Yes…it was pure music to him. The explosion that rattles the air, the screams of pain from Namori's mouth, her begging for release—Oh, that took a turn he didn't expect. He supposed that 'screaming' and 'begging' could be taken in another way, one with a sexual connotation…it certainly didn't help that he was slightly attracted to her and that her mouth was currently a couple inches away from his. He shook his head a bit, trying to clear his mind.  
"Na-Na!" Mia said, rounding the corner. She froze as she saw the two of them. Namori was practically curled up on Kimblee's lap, a hand on his arm. Kimblee was leaning over her, lips inches from hers. Mia stared at them, watching as Kimblee blinked multiple times.  
Finally, Kimblee stood up and lightly bonked Mia's head. "Don't run off again."  
"Yes sir…" Mia muttered, glancing at Namori. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.  
Namori smiled, acting innocent. "Thanks!"  
Mia nodded. "Anytime." She turned back to Kimblee. "Let's get back to work."  
Kimblee nodded. "Alright." He bowed his head to Namori. "I hope to see you later, Miss Namori."  
Namori smiled a bit. "Same here."  
"So…" Mia said, clutching her sketchbook to her chest as they walked down the hall. "You have a nice chat with Na-Na?"  
"Somewhat." Kimblee responded. "We mostly talked about my Alchemy." Kimblee glanced at Mia. "You're in the same position she was."  
"Huh?"  
"Clutching that sketchbook to her chest as if you can hide."  
Mia glared a bit at him. "I'm not trying to hide."  
Kimblee patted her head, shoving the white fedora against her head. "Sure."  
Mia batted his hand away, glaring. Kimblee chuckled and continued walking. Mia looked back at Namori. How close were they?

All the military men gave them odd looks as the girls left their apartment. They might've been staring at the girls themselves, though it was probably their outfits. Mia was wearing the same outfit she wore the entire day, though she kept Kimblee's fedora on her head. Kaitlin was wearing a purple cheongsam with white edging. Thigh length black socks covered most of her legs, and a safety pin attaching the slit sides of the fabric covering the rest of her legs. Kaitlin stumbled a bit, gripping one of the other's girls' arms for support, finding the slightly heeled slippers hard to walk in. Namori was wearing an odd kimono-like dress. She was wearing tight red shirt underneath a light purple dress with frills at the very bottom. A long dark purple skirt was strapped underneath her breasts and hung down to just below the middle of her lower leg. Military boots were on her feet, as Mia's lace-up boots didn't fit Namori's feet. Eva was wearing a light pink dress with a dark purple robe wrapped around it, held closed with an obi. Her hair was pinned back with an intricate flower clip. Eva steadied Kaitlin and almost fell herself. "I hate these shoes…" Eva muttered.  
"They're just slippers." Mia said. "Not much of a heel."  
"I wear steel-toed boots, not open toed slippers."  
"Good point. I'm sure when you wear them more, you'd get used to them."  
"As soon as we get home, I'm throwing these away and putting my boots back on."  
"Don't throw them out! I wear those shoes!"  
"Anyways, where is this restaurant?" Kaitlin said, walking slowly on the uneven roads. "My feet are killing me."  
Eva pointed to a restaurant. "Right here!"  
"Thank Bog!" Kaitlin said. "Is this one of the places that you take your shoes off when you walk in?"  
"No."  
"Boo…" Kaitlin muttered, hanging her arms.  
Eva patted Kaitlin's head and approached the waiter. "Table for four."  
The waiter blinked and slowly pointed at the costumes. "You guys aren't—" he sighed. "Never mind…" he took a couple of menus. "Follow me."  
"You know," Namori said, looking around. "When people say Xingese, I always pictured as a place that's cheep and has no sitting areas."  
The waiter in front of them visibly flinched.  
"This is a nice place though. It's a bit more expensive then what other Xingese restaurants seemed to have." Namori said.  
"That's the price they have to pay to afford chairs." Kaitlin smirked.  
The waiter flinched again, a bit more drastic than before. "Here's your seats." He said curtly and walked away.  
Namori blinked and sat down. "Aren't they supposed to be more nice to us?"  
"Yep." Kaitlin said. "But I think we pissed him off. Don't know why, if he's just the waiter."  
"Who knows." Eva said. "Now, where's the desert part of the menu?"  
The day was nice, and a weight was lifted from all their shoulders. Perhaps it was the training, or it might have been the fact that half of the girls' teachers were gone, but they had been stressed. Now, they weren't State Alchemist apprentices, but girls having fun. Even though people around them were talking amongst themselves about two young men fighting in the streets and explosions going off, the girls took no mind.  
Their minds were empty of all thoughts of fear.

Eva walked into the office, expecting Mustang. Instead, Kain Fuery stood, anxiously shifting from one leg to another. He seemed older for some reason. There were bags under his eyes, and his forehead was knotted with frown lines.  
"Something wrong?" Eva said with a large smile.  
Fuery looked up at her. "Eva…" he said, voice filled with sadness.  
Eva froze, her mind flashing back.  
_There was rain falling from the sky, causing a thin layer of muck on the ground. _  
"What happened?"  
"Well…See…Mustang and Havoc…"  
_There was nothing she could do. No matter how the girl begged and pleaded, she couldn't do anything._  
"F-Fuery. Please tell me they're not—"  
_A gunshot. A scream._  
It was happening again.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, it's a new record! Only three days have passed since I uploaded this to my deviantART! New Year's Resolution: Update Fanfictions in a timely manor.

/

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 7

Fuery led Eva into a hospital room. Eva was nervous, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She almost fainted a couple minutes ago, and even now her vision was obscured by colored spheres of light. This was happening too fast. Mustang was fine when he left, and Havoc was joking with her not too long ago. Now, they're both in the hospital, badly hurt. Eva swallowed as Fuery said that their room was near.

"YOU IDIOT!" rang from the room, causing Eva to flinch a bit. That was Mustang. Who was he yelling at?

There was a bit of silence—obviously they were talking at normal levels—before Mustang yelled again, this time cursing someone else.

"STOP ASKING FOR SO MUCH!" Mustang yelled. "YOU WERE DONE RARE! I WAS MEDIUM! I'M WORSE OFF!"

Why were they talking about steaks in a hospital?

Fuery smiled a bit at Eva and chuckled awkwardly before slowly opening the door.

"Besides," Mustang was saying, "why am I sharing a room with a man? I should have a private room with a beautiful nurse of my own!"

Eva couldn't help smiling a bit. Typical Mustang. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she originally thought…

Hawkeye sighed. "Please bear with me, Colonel. When you are together, it's easier to guard you from the—"

"The visitors!" Fuery said, breaking off the conversation before it got too deep in the Homunculi, a matter too much for Eva to hear.

Mustang turned to the door, smiling a bit. "Eva. Good to see you."

"You're all beat up…" Eva muttered.

Havoc chuckled a little bit. "You're overreacting, little girl. We're fine. We just got cut up and burnt."

Eva sat in a chair between the two men. Mustang had a couple bandages on his face, and one wrapped around his hand. He was sitting up, legs draped over the side of the hospital bed. It was obvious that every movement of his waist was full of pain, but he was fine. Havoc wasn't bandaged as much, but he couldn't move his body at all. "I guess…" she swallowed, eyes glistening with tears she's been holding back. "I guess you're all fine…"

"That's right." Mustang said, petting her head.

"Who did this to you?" Eva asked.

Havoc took Eva's hand and squeezed it a bit. "That's a bit too deep, little girl."

"Deep?"

"There's a lot of things in this world you don't know about."

"I read. I know a lot of things. About all the things that go bump in the night and things like that."

"Those are fiction though." Mustang said. "Though," he chuckled grimly, "I think some of the things we're going through are a part of fiction."

"Can you tell me about it?"

They all shook their heads vigorously.

Eva bowed her head. "Kill them." She muttered softly. They blinked at her. "These people…They've hurt you. All I would want is for them to be gone…"

"Don't worry, little girl."

"Yeah, Eva. Admiringly, the enemies are a bit too big for us to handle. Hell, I've been over my head from the beginning. But everyone here is willing to work themselves ragged for their goal."

Fuery smiled. "You've got me, Colonel."

Hawkeye smiled a bit too. "I'll always watch your back."

Havoc swallowed a bit and slowly let go of Eva's hand, raising it slightly to draw attention. "Yeah, about that Colonel…I think you'll have to count me out."

All heads were on him. Eva's face paled slightly.

"Your work requires legs…and…well…I can't feel mine."

Eva's world started to shut down around her.

"I hate to say it…but I'm retired."

Eva slowly stood up and put a hand on his leg.

He simply stared up at her, not reacting. She made a fist and pounded her hand against his leg.

Havoc shook his head.

Eva collapsed to her knees and cried against Havoc's useless legs.

/

Classes weren't in session for a while. Eva didn't have any teachers to work with, Edward was gone and Alphonse disappeared, Armstrong was still away. Only Mia still had a teacher. Thus, he was given the pleasure—or displeasure—of coaching all of the girls. Needless to say, he didn't like it so much. However, Eva usually went about her own business, visiting Havoc and Mustang every day when Fuery didn't try to teach her anything. Kaitlin shut herself in her room and read most of the time. Only Namori and Mia were normal students. Kimblee actually didn't mind that it was only those two. The more he taught Namori, the easier it would be do dispose of her. He loved a fight, but he wanted it to be humiliating for her, to have him know every move that she made because he taught her those moves. Of course, he socialized with her, and they became good 'friends'. She was closer to him, she trusted him. That would be her downfall.

"Alright." Kimblee said as the girls walked onto the small track. "Thank you for taking time out of your Saturday to be here. Today, I will test your speed and endurance and—Namori, what are you wearing?"

Namori looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a dark red long-sleeved dress with a deep v-neck. With the v-neck alone, he would've found it hard to concentrate on her. However, the dress was also extremely short, covering only part of her upper thigh. Most of her legs were shielded by white thigh-high socks, except for a thin strip of dark skin. "It's a dress?" Namori said, slightly confused.

"Yes, I realize it's a dress. I was just wondering if—never mind." Kimblee said, rubbing his forehead. Why was that small strip of skin of her legs almost just as, if not more, attractive than when he saw Mia in her underwear? Better question: Why was he comparing the attractiveness of two teenagers he should have no interest in? He bent down and picked up a few stones. "Run, if you please."

"What?" Mia asked, confused. Mia was wearing a dress; she didn't want to run.

Kimblee threw a stone at their feet. It exploded, puffing out smoke and sending small chips of rock against the girls' legs. They squeaked and jumped away. "I said, 'run', girls." He threw another stone, this one aiming for their faces.

They ran.

Kimblee threw stone after stone at them, aiming for different areas of their body. "In war, things happen randomly. Bullets are fired, crosshairs are lined on you. You can't stop. You must keep moving. Don't give me a clear target. Move randomly." Kimblee threw his stones at Namori's feet and she dodged, her dress flipping up and giving him a pleasant view of her white underwear. He smirked a bit before frowning and grabbing another handful of stones. He should not be so attracted by a teenaged girl's underwear. He was above that.

The girls were quick, moving in sporadic ways, jumping over the small bombs. Kimblee smirked. They would do well on the battlefield. Kimblee threw a stone, hitting Namori's ankle and exploding. She squealed and fell to the ground, tripping Mia. Another stone—thrown before Kimblee realized the collision—fell in front of Mia's face and exploded, pushing small stones into her face, drawing blood. Kimblee threw the rest of the small bombs to the side and ran over to her. He pulled Mia up to a sitting position and grabbed her chin, examining her face. "It's not too bad. It's a couple scratches. They'll heal easily enough."

"Mr. Kimblee?" Namori said quietly, sitting on her legs.

"Yes?"

"Is it alright if I go into town for a bit? I want to see if Edward is around."

"Of course. Go ahead. But be safe."

"Uh-huh."

"I wouldn't want to find your name in the newspaper, saying that you were attacked."

Namori smiled. "Don't worry about me, Mr. Kimblee. I'll be fine. I'm a big girl."

Kimblee couldn't help but look at her chest at that comment, and then at her backside as she ran away. Then he remembered the girl still on the ground and turned back to her. "I'm terribly sorry that you were caught up in the explosion." Kimblee said to Mia, helping her to her feet.

"Dead…" she muttered.

"Hmm?"

"If this was war, I'd be dead. Isn't that what you say whenever I lose a fight?"

Kimblee chuckled a bit. "True enough. I'm very proud in how long you lasted though."

Mia smiled a bit. "Thanks. Hey, I was wondering about something, about what we're doing here."

Kimblee had asked Envy the same question not too long ago. "What about it?"

"Why are we here?"

"To teach you about the ways of the military and maybe have you become an official State Alchemist. I have much confidence in your abilities. You'd make a good ally in battle." He was speaking honestly about the last part. He would've liked it if she would've fought with him in Ishval.

"But what if I don't want to fight? What if—"

Kimblee ran his thumb over her bottom lip. Her eyes widened a bit and her cheeks turned pink, staring up at him. "There was a bit of blood." He said, licking the small red spot off his finger. Mia found herself staring at his tongue, mesmerized. "Now, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that—huh…I don't remember."

Kimblee smirked to himself. Exactly as planned. "Really? Too bad." He put a hand on her back and escorted her inside. It was almost too easy to remove doubt from her mind.

/

"Guess who." Eva said, opening the door to Havoc's room.

Havoc smiled from when he was lying on the bed. "Hey, little girl. I didn't think I'd see you today."

"Mustang almost didn't want me to go."

"Really? What changed his mind?"

"Nothing. I told him I was going to the bathroom."

Havoc chuckled. "So, how's your teaching going?"

Eva sat on the side of Havoc's bed. "Pretty good. I find it hard to concentrate though."

"That's because you keep shoveling sugar into you."

Eva unwrapped a chocolate bar. "I like sugar. It makes life more fun!"

Havoc chuckled. "That's what I love about you, little girl. You've got so much energy."

"So…you love me for my energy."

"In short."

Eva could live with that. "So, how's it going for you?"

"Well…I'm a bit sad about retiring early…"

"A bit sad? Shouldn't there be more emotion than just 'a bit sad'?"

"Yeah, probably, but I can't exactly say what I feel. It's all numbed by now. To be honest…well, you don't want to hear it."

"I do! I do!"

"I'm most upset about the fact I don't have a girlfriend anymore."

Eva was silent for a moment and then laughed, gripping the bedpost so she didn't fall.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You—you're only concerned about losing a girlfriend?"

"Hey, Mustang stole all of my girls before. I finally got one of my own, and she stabbed me in the spine."

"You mean back."

Havoc slowly shook his head. Eva glanced at his legs. Havoc sighed. "Damn Colonel…always getting in the way…I can't catch a break…he always steals my girls or makes me break up with them or steals them…"

"That's not true though. You've got one girl he'll never get."

"Who?"

Eva pointed a finger at herself. "Me. I'm your little girl, right?"

Havoc blinked and laughed. "Yeah, you're right. You're my little girl." Havoc reached up and rubbed her head.

Eva smiled a bit, nuzzling his hand. She put a hand on his chest, looking into is eyes. For a couple of seconds, a couple seconds that seemed to last a year, they were connected, eyes light green linked with dark brown, hands resting softly, one on his chest, close to his heart, the other in her hair, framing her face. Eva wanted to stay like this. But she was the one who broke contact first, standing up, pulling her hand away from his chest and leaving his hand hanging limply in the air. "I guess…I guess I should be going now."

"Yeah…"

Eva leaned in, hesitated, then kissed his forehead. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah…"

Eva walked out, her heart beating. She really liked him. No it wasn't like. It was too big. She thought about him all the time, she wanted to be around him at all times. When she heard that Havoc was hurt, she thought that it was the end. Her world was crashing down around her for the second time, and this time she thought she would never recover. However, it was a blessing in disguise. Someone knew that by handicapping Havoc, she could spend more time with him, explore her own little world and expand it to fit Havoc in it.

Eva smiled to herself. It might be a bit odd, but it would all be right in the end. She was sure of it. This was love. It's been in thousands and thousands of books, those three little words: Happily. Ever. After. It was her time now.

/

iArmstrong's been acting weird today. Well, he's been acting weird ever since he got back from his vacation-slash-abandonment. It's good I got out and relaxed. Especially away from the girls. Namori's got a crush on Kimblee, Mia's got a crush on Kimblee and is waging an all out war for his affections whether Namori knows it or not, and Eva's falling for Havoc. I'm so glad that I don't care about guys like they do. I wonder how Ling's doing. Damn, I'm becoming one of them!/i

The Xingese boy had been on her mind a lot lately. Maybe it was because he was her first kiss. Maybe it was because they had talked a lot. Maybe it was the fact he was handsome. Maybe it was because they were good friends. Maybe it was the fact that he was a prince of a foreign country. Maybe it was the fact that he kissed her. Who knows, but she kept worrying about him. He might be a prince, but he didn't seem that smart. He would easily rush into something and get hurt.

She sighed and looked up. She stopped. There he was. "Ling!"

Ling ran along rooftops, ignoring her.

"Damn…Ling!" she ran through an alley, calling his name over and over. However, it was useless. The wind was blowing towards her, and the noise of the streets was still in the background. "Ling you idiot!"

Ling heard that and looked down at the ground. "Kat!" he jumped off of the roof.

"Ling!" She ran forward, hoping to stunt his fall in some way. However, she wasn't needed. Ling bent his knees as he fell and rolled, absorbing all of the impact. Kaitlin skidded, stopping short of ramming into Ling. "Hey, what are you—"

Ling grabbed Kaitlin's shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, that was my line."

"It's not safe here! You need to move!"

"What? It's the city. I'm a city girl. I know how to handle myself here. I can run between cars like it's nothing at all."

"No, it's—"

Kaitlin looked at Ling. He seemed anxious, not being able to stay still for long. "Alright. I get it. Stuff is going happen. Just wanted to say hi and talk for a bit. I guess I'll see you later then."

"Kat, wait."

"Wha—" Ling kissed her. For the third time! Well, technically the second time on the lips, and the first time it was an actual kiss-kiss. It wasn't a peck, but full kiss. Ling moved his hands from her shoulders to cup her face. Kaitlin stared at him, not sure what to do. After a couple of seconds, she closed her eyes and gently touched Ling's cheek, making her lips imitate the movement of Ling's lips. Soon, they pulled away.

"You know, Kat…" Ling whispered softly.

"What?"

"I totally forgot why I wanted to do that!" Ling laughed a bit. "But, anyway, Lan Fan and I…well, we've got a plan to help me get immortality. It's risky, so I don't want you anywhere near us when it happens."

"Alright, I understand. You'll be safe, right?" he was weird, but Kaitlin cared about the boy, even before the kiss. The kiss certainly added something though.

"Yeah, of course! Listen, just walk around town over the next couple of days, like around the park. I'll make sure to meet you there, okay?"

"Yeah. Sounds great."

Ling kissed her cheek again and ran off, somehow making his way to the rooftop and disappearing in the distance.

Kaitlin walked off, smiling a bit. She just got her first date. "Hey! Namori!" she yelled, spotting her friend.

Namori turned around, adjusting the sunglasses on her nose. "Hey, Kaitlin. Something wrong?"

"I just got my first date!"

"Really? With that Ling, right?"

"Uh-huh. Is it supposed to happen that fast?"

"Well, Ling is fifteen, right?"

"Yeah."

"That explains it then. I've never been in a relationship, but I've seen it happen in school all the time. Teenagers tend to get in relationships and love very quickly—" Kaitlin smiled "—and end them just as quickly."

Kaitlin frowned. "So, he'll break up with me?"

"No, no! I don't think so! We'll have a discussion later, after dinner, okay?"

"Okay. I'm the priority, right?"

"Of course!"

"That's good. So what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see if Edward is around."

"Good luck."

"I'll need it."

Kaitlin waved and ran off towards Central, leaving Namori to roam the streets. There was much talk around town, about Central soldiers running around randomly and word of Scar. Namori had heard about this 'Scar', and she didn't really like what he was saying. Namori too wanted a good future, one where she wouldn't get so many dirty looks and more people with dark skin and red eyes could freely roam the streets. However, killing wasn't the answer. Death wouldn't make the future good. Being in the military and helping others would. Namori smiled a bit, remembering the essay she wrote and knowing that's why she was here, learning from the Fullmetal Alchemist and occasionally Mr. Kimblee.

"Those Elric brothers are apparently fighting Scar."

Namori stopped, listening to the conversation.

"Oh, is that what all the commotion is about over on K Street?"

"Yeah."

Namori ran off towards K Street, fingering a piece of chalk in her pocket. If there was a fight, she would be a part of it. This was her chance to show everyone what she could do. She emerged, knowing she was in the right place. She was staring at Alphonse's metal back, seeing the black pants of Edward poking out. She saw over Alphonse's shoulder a tall, dark man. Scar. However, there was another person there, one who didn't fit in with the hardened faces and battle poses. A girl with long, blonde hair, tears staining her cheeks, a gun shaking in her hand, pointed at the Ishvalan murderer.

Suddenly, Scar moved towards the girl. Edward and Alphonse immediately jumped to stop him, to redirect him. Edward flipped over Scar's arm and positioned himself between Scar and the girl, putting his head in reach of Scar's hand. Before Scar could touch Edward, a fist of stone pushed him to the side. Scar stumbled and nearly fell to the ground, head turning quickly to locate the attacker. His eyes met Namori, crouched on the ground, hands on a Transmutation Circle.

"Why do you interfere?"

"Namori!" Alphonse called. "Run!"

Namori straightened up. "Because they are my friends. I have to protect them."

Scar stared at the girl, eyes full of malice. "Then you shall pay the price. Those who interfere with my work are my enemy."

"Run!"

Even if Namori had listened to Alphonse, she wouldn't have any time to escape. Scar ran forward and pressed his hand against the stone fist, causing it to explode and shower her with sharp bits of stone. Namori lifted her arms to shield her face and ran to the side, away from the dangerous bits. Namori went for her chalk, but Scar ran towards her and lunged his arm forward, not giving her a chance to draw a Transmutation Circle. He slammed his hand into the ground, causing it to explode and break apart underneath her feet. Namori jumped back, her chalk slipping from her grip. Her feet slipped out from under her as she stepped on an uneven slab of rock. She fell to the ground with a crash, her sunglasses shattering and falling away from her.

Namori touched her head, feeling a spot of blood and looked up. Scar was over her, his red eyes glaring down at her. He lifted his arm and grabbed her head.

Death was certain.

There was no escape.


	8. Chapter 8

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 8

* * *

Death never came.

She was still sitting there, still alive, staring up at the rogue Ishvalan's red eyes, his hand clamped over her face. He stared at her for a bit, his red eye staring into hers. Slowly, Scar moved his hand away from her face, but gripped her neck in case she decided to escape or attack. "Namori?" he said after a moment of analyzing her face.

Namori froze. "You know me?" His face seemed familiar…but from where. "How do you know me?"

If he had anything to say, he wasn't given time. Alphonse swiftly kicked Scar in the side, pushing him away from Namori. Scar pressed his hand against the alley wall, causing it to explode and crumble away.

Namori's eyes widened and she gripped her forehead. She was in the desert, cramped in the back of a wagon filled with crying children, skin slick and stinky from a layer of dirt and sweat on their dark skin. An explosion rattled in the distance, shaking the desert and filling the hot, dry air with screams. The ground rumbled, and the mules groaned and tried to run away, refusing to listen to their owners.

She was out of the wagon now, and she was running, gripping a small knife in her hand, stained with the blood of others. Namori fell on her hands and knees and banged her head against the ground, her teeth gritting together as a small, strangled scream rumbled in her throat. Was she hitting her head against sand or stone? Was she a child or an adult? Was she is Ishval or Central? Was the blood on her face someone else's or her own?

Slowly, her grip on reality was gained. She was Namori Anjyl. She was seventeen. She was a student of Edward Elric. She liked Mr. Zolf J. Kimblee. She always smiled and laughed when people talked to her. She wasn't that person with the bloody knife. She was a person who couldn't hurt anyone. She liked Mr. Zolf J. Kimblee.

Slowly, her mind calmed down and she gained her bearings. She slowly sat up, aware of the hand on her shoulder. "Ms. Anjyl," a military man said. "Are you alright?"

Namori nodded. "I just…I don't know…I got…scared?"

"Don't worry. You're safe now." The military man helped her to her feet, leading her back to Central with the girl from before in tow.

* * *

Mia was chewing her lips, causing them to bleed slightly. Her tongue darted out and licked up the few crimson drops before continuing to bite.

"Something on your mind?" Eva asked, chewing some gummy snacks.

"What gave it away?" Mia muttered.

"The blood on your lips."

"You want to talk?" Kaitlin asked.

"I don't want to interfere with the conversation we're having."

"Please. Let's talk about your troubles." After the girls fretted over Namori and her bloody head—though Namori refused to say anything on the matter except that Edward and Alphonse were fighting—Kaitlin was given the center of all conversation as they discovered that the youngest person of their group was granted the pleasure of a date with the Prince of Xing, Ling Yao. Kaitlin was flattered by all the attention, but they have been talking about her for over an hour. She was feeling stifled.

"Well…after Kimblee fixed my face up, he told me to do whatever I want. I got bored after an hour, and went back to his room. I heard him talking to that military officer from before that Kaitlin had a crush on—"

"Hey!" Kaitlin said, blushing.

"Sorry. That Kaitlin still has a crush on even though she's on a date with a prince—"

"His voice is still cute…and he's got pretty purple eyes…" Though Ling's gray eyes were captivating also…

"Moving on. Kimblee was asking when he could get away from m—here." In the actual conversation, he said he was tired of being tied down to 'that girl', but they didn't need to know that. "I don't think he's going to want to stay here for long, and if he does get an assignment, I'm going to see if I could try to follow him…"

"And leave us…" Kaitlin said sadly.

Namori looked at her hands. "That might happen to me too…Edward and Alphonse were always traveling before I came here…and considering what they've been doing—whatever it is they're doing—I think they might leave soon too…and I will probably follow them so I can learn even more." She looked at the other two girls. "What about you?"

"Mustang's pretty grounded here. He won't leave unless he's dragged out. I probably won't follow him if he does leave though."

"Really?"

Eva nodded. "Havoc's here."

No other words were needed.

Kaitlin crossed her arms. "Armstrong only left once when I've been here. He's been here for forever. His family lives here, and he's been stationed here ever since the Ishval War. He's not going anywhere anytime soon."

"So half of us could leave at any time…" Namori said softly. She just got friends; she wasn't willing to leave them so soon.

Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hopped over to Kaitlin, nibbling her fingers. Kaitlin picked him up and put him on her lap. For the first time, she was homesick. She was so far from home…

And yet she wasn't. She looked down at the letter she wrote at her feet. "We don't have to be completely separate. We write to our parents every day. We'll probably still do that if we leave here. Why not just write another letter and send it here?"

Mia smirked. "Yeah, that sounds awesome. Maybe we can actually use those bulletin boards."

Namori went to her desk and got out some paper. "Why don't we use them right now. Make some signs for us."

Namori took charge of Eva's sign, Eva of Kaitlin's, Kaitlin for Mia's, and Mia for Namori's. They took whatever drawing materials they had—colored pencils, pens, markers, regular pencils and scissors—and went to work.

After a couple of minutes, they stopped, clutching the papers to their chests to hide their wonderful creations. "I'll go first." Mia said. She walked up to the bulletin board near Namori's bed and pinned up a small piece of paper that had the word 'Angel' written on it in elegant cursive writing in a shimmery silver marker, yellow wings floating around it.

Namori giggled. "Am I that sweet?"

"Yeah, a bit."

Namori smiled. "Alright, my turn then." Namori said, walking to Eva's board. The paper was colored with green marker, the words 'Eversummer's Eve' written in brown cursive, the words accented with many different superfluous curves. A small fairy sat in the corner of the picture. "I heard that saying once," Namori said, tapping her chin, "though I forget where. I think it was a comic of some sort…I thought it would be nice and fitting for you, considering your name."

Eva smiled a bit. "It is. I like that saying. I need to find out how to use it." Eva pinned up Kaitlin's sign, the words 'weasel' written in block letters and a cut out of a weasel hanging from the bottom of the paper, positioned so it looked like it was grabbing onto the corner.

Kaitlin smiled. "Cute paper child."

Eva shrugged. "I thought it fitted your personality."

"I'm a weasel in personality? Cool."

"So what did you do for me?" Mia asked, smiling.

Kaitlin shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, nothing special…I kinda don't want to show it now considering all you were nice…"

"Aw come on!" Mia jumped up and down a bit. "Please!"

Kaitlin sighed. "Fine…" she pinned her paper on Mia's board. It simply said 'stalker' in scribbly print.

Mia blinked and laughed a bit. "Really? 'Stalker'? That's all you can come up with to describe me?"

"I see what you draw. Kimblee. Kimblee. Kimblee. Kimblee. You and Kimblee…"

Mia pouted. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Yes. You are."

They looked at the bulletin boards, admiring what was up there. Eva smiled. "This will be really great…"

They all nodded, though there was a bit of disappointment in the fact that their little group of friends could split up at any moment.

* * *

Eva walked into Havoc's hospital room, just as Breda exited. "Hey." She said.

Breda nodded, face not as happy as usual.

Eva walked into Havoc's room and sat down next to him. He had weights in his hands, lifting them methodically up and down. She touched his head softly, stopping his work. "Hey…"

He looked at her. "Hey, little girl."

"How's everything going for you?"

He shrugged. "Eh. My mom came earlier today."

"Oh no…"

"It wasn't that bad, really. She was all torn up with me, and my retiring…But I've seen her cry before because of what I've done. It almost didn't hit as hard as should have. Honestly, it was worse with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've never seen you break down like that. You've always been stuck in my head as this happy girl who couldn't sit still. The contrast was…shocking, to say the least. And when you first came into the room…you looked like you were fighting a battle on the inside."

"I kinda was…see—" she stopped, the words stuck in throat.

Havoc looked at her, sitting up a bit more. "See what?"

Eva shook her head. "Never mind…"

"Aw, come on, little girl. You can tell me. You can tell me anything."

"Well…When I was thirteen, my best friend and I were walking at night. She was everything to me. We knew each other before we were born, practically. Our mothers were in the same hospital, and we were born on the same day, only a couple hours apart. It wouldn't be too special, really, because I lived in East City. You know how many sirens I hear going to the hospital and how many cars speeding by with both turn signals on?"

"A lot, I'm guessing."

"Yeah. But we only lived a couple of streets away, and our mothers were in the same room for a short time for a while in labor. Mom said they talked between brakes in contractions, always picking up the subject when we were done killing them." Eva laughed a bit. "Anyways, we grew up together, got hooked on the same things. People thought we were sisters. We didn't look alike, but we all acted alike. But that night…something happened…and…and everything…everything went wrong." Eva's voice caught in her throat, her eyes flashed with pain.

Havoc put down his weights and lightly took her hand, squeezing it. "You don't have to say it."

"I've already started." She closed her eyes and took a couple deep breaths before continuing. "Then, a guy appeared…well, you can imagine what was going to happen. But we fought back. My friend managed to distract him and told me to get help. I just stood there in shock. The man tossed her around like she was a rag doll. She was begging him to not do anything to her or do anything to me. He got out a gun and shot her in the stomach."

Havoc gripped her hand tighter.

"Her scream is still in my nightmares. A police officer appeared and shot the man, saving me from whatever could happen. He went to me first, asking me if I was alright, if I was safe, and then went to help my friend, franticly calling other police officers to help save her." Eva shrugged a bit. "It didn't work. She died at the scene. But I never forgot the police officer, how he acted without fear, and how all those other officers were there for me when I needed it. I was the priority, my safety, and my comfort. It reminded me how in a novel I read about Alchemists, how the Alchemist was always there for the people, like a hero. They were heroes, and the man went to jail thanks to their testimonies. He was executed later, so he'd never hurt another person like my friend. That's what they told me. It felt…good.

"When I wrote my essay, I talked about how I wanted to be one of those people, the person who could rush onto the scene and get rid of anyone who wanted to cause hurt to others. I said I would be an Alchemist as well, in order to make myself even more powerful and help more people. Because that's what the military's for. It's for getting rid of those who would cause harm and fight for what is right for the world."

"Sounds like a nice essay."

"Yeah…too bad I can't write worth a damn."

Havoc laughed. "It's still a nice essay. Good message."

Eva smiled at him. "It was good enough for me to come here."

Havoc nodded a bit. "So…what was her name? Your friend?"

"I'm not telling you."

"What?"

"If I tell you her name, she'll only be remembered as the friend who died. She's more than that. Much more."

Havoc smiled a bit. "That's true. You know little girl, you've got more layers than I imagined."

Eva smiled a bit at him, brushing some hair out of his face. "Well, other than that, I don't think I'm that special."

He brushed his fingers against her hand. "I think there's a lot more to you than that."

Eva blushed. "Anyway…now that you're done with military, what are you going to do now?" Eva said, rubbing her head, trying to distract the subject from her.

Havoc picked up his weights again and started lifting them. "I'm going to go back down south and work at my parents' store."

"That's it? It's a waste of your talent."

He shrugged. "It's all I can do."

Eva looked down at his legs and placed a hand softly on them. "Is there anything—"

"No. The person who attacked me…her attack went right through my spine. There's nothing science or Alchemy can do to help me."

Eva frowned. "I don't like it…I don't like the fact that all you can do is sit in a wheelchair and wait on people. You're so much more talented…"

He put down his weights and rubbed her head. "Hey, shit happens all the time. I have to live with what I got."

"I guess that's true…" Eva looked at his muscular arms. "At least you'll get really big arms from pushing yourself around all the time."

Havoc laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

A military man knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation. "Miss Vora?"

Eva looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Can you come with me?"

"Why?"

"Führer King Bradley wants to see you."

Havoc's face paled a bit and he tightened his grip on Eva's hand.

* * *

Kaitlin was sitting in the park, her legs kicking back and forth. She was in her 'uniform' for lack of a better word, though she took off her leather jacket and had it resting on her lap. Mia had said that just wearing her white tank top would make a better impression on him because more skin would be showing. For some reason, Kaitlin listened to her. Mia was older and knew about boys and flirting, so she might be right. She wanted to impress Ling on their—giggle—date.

An hour had passed since she first sat on that bench, watching the crowd for the Xingese boy. She hoped that Ling would show up, that he would be there waiting when she came. He wasn't. Kaitlin sighed and played with one of the black edges of hair. "I'll have to dye you again. Make you look better…or maybe I'll chop you off and dye your friends above you…" Kaitlin muttered. Shortly after saying this she punched her forehead. "Stop talking to yourself in public places…people will stare. Stop it Kaitlin…Stop!"

Kaitlin sighed and massaged her temples. "I've been out here way too long…He's not going to show…" she stood up and put her leather jacket back on, looking down at the gypsy skirt she was wearing. One of the tassels was messy and scraggily from where she got stuck to Ling. She unconsciously blushed at the memory. She punched her head again and started walking.

She only walked a couple of steps before she froze in midwalk. There he was. He was wearing black pants and a long leather jacket instead of his white sweats and orange jacket, but it was him! "Ling! Ling!"

Ling just kept walking.

Kaitlin growled. "Ling!"

Ling didn't hear her.

She sighed. What would Mia do to get a guy's attention? Kaitlin ran to him and jumped, tackling him in a hug.

That got his attention. Ling stumbled and cursed, glaring at Kaitlin. "Why'd you do that!"

"You didn't hear me before, Ling."

Ling's expression changed from anger, to surprise, to amusement. He gave a crooked smirk that wasn't his usual smile, showing pointed teeth. Ling pointed to his chest. "Oh, you know him?"

"Yeah, I know you. What happened to your voice? Did you hit some kind of super puberty?"

Ling laughed, though it wasn't a Ling-y laugh. "Sorry, girl. Ling's not here now."

Kaitlin glared at him, a bit of fear wrapping around her heart. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Listen, Kitten, your little boyfriend isn't here right now. I'm in control of his body now."

Kaitlin looked up at the Ling-like figure and took a couple of steps back suddenly afraid of the man in front of him. "Who are you?"

He held up his hand, showing a tattoo of a dragon devouring its tail. "The name's Greed."

Kaitlin narrowed her eyes. "Greed? As—as in the deadly sin?"

"Yep."

Kaitlin blinked and grabbed his arm. "Come."

"What?"

"Come over here."

Greed sighed and let himself be dragged.

She led him to a bench and stood up on it, putting himself closer to his height. She started poking his forehead. "You are not 'Greed'. You are Ling. You are a happy person who eats food every waking moment. You are not this cocky individual in front of me. Go back to normal."

"Hey I'm—stop that." Greed grabbed her wrists to stop her from poking. "Ling's not here anymore, Kitten. You're stuck with Greed."

"Ling is right in front of me and what was that?"

"What was what?"

"You called me Kitten."

"Oh yeah. That kid keeps telling me to leave Kat alone. I figured Kitten was a cuter. And that was the second time I called you that."

Kaitlin stared at him, eyes wide. "He's in there…And you're…you're really controlling his body?"

"It's not his body. It's my body."

Kaitlin grabbed his shoulders, glaring at him. "It's not your body! It's Ling's! You're exactly like Ling! Only your voice, eyes, part, superior attitude, and your tacky tattoo!"

"Tacky? It's not tacky."

"Give him back! I want Ling back! It's not your body, it's his!"

"It's mine now, Kitten. Ling's not getting his body back no matter how hard he tries."

Kaitlin's arms slumped a bit and she fell onto the bench, gripping her head. "This is impossible…Someone can't control someone else's body…"

"Nothing's impossible, Kitten."

Kaitlin stood up and looked up into Greed's eyes. "I know you're in there…Take his body back…please…"

"It's my body. Just because he's alive, doesn't mean he has any control."

"Kaitlin Wiesel?" a voice said, interrupting whatever Kaitlin was going to argue.

Kaitlin looked past Greed, seeing that cute military man from before. "Yeah?"

He held out his hand. "Can you come with me? The Führer wants to see you."

Greed gripped his head.

"The Führer? Why?"

"Just come with me."

Kaitlin took a step forward when Greed suddenly pushed Kaitlin behind his back. "Don't touch her!" Greed said, though it wasn't his original voice. It was Ling's voice. Kaitlin stared up at him, noticing his hair was pushed over to the left, not the right as it was before.

Greed—or was it Ling?—rubbed his head, pushing his hair back over to the right side of his face. "That was weird." Greed said. "Can't believe he slipped through…"

"You should be more careful, Greed." The military man said.

Kaitlin looked at him. Did he know Greed? How?

"Don't worry, I will be. Hell, I'm leaving now so he won't get tempted." Greed walked away, glancing over his shoulder at Kaitlin before disappearing into the crowd.

"Ms. Wiesel?"

Kaitlin looked cautiously at him. "Yeah?"

He took her wrist. "This way please."

Kaitlin winced at the tight grip and looked up with him. Slowly, things were connecting in her brain. This cute man—though he seemed less cute the more she thought—was first met when he picked them up. The car groaned when he sat in it, as if he was heavy. But he didn't look heavy. And then there was his eyes…purple, like that Greed's. Greed wasn't human. He took over Ling's body, though not enough to silence him. This person in front of her…with the same eyes as Greed's…who knew who Greed was…wasn't human.

So what was he?

* * *

Check my profile for fanart of this story. ^_^

Also, more attention will be given to individual characters from here on out as the plot moves along more swiftly.


	9. Chapter 9

Bleh, this chapter took far to long to get posted here...I'm so lazy! DX

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 9

* * *

Namori was sitting in a chair outside the Führer's office, shifting from side to side. She was glad that the military man who interrupted her Alchemy training (and almost got impaled with her spear while doing so) allowed her to change. She was about to visit the most powerful man in the country; she wasn't going to do it in Edward's clothes. She looked down at herself, hoping her attire was appropriate. She was wearing a white dress with a black vest overtop. She smoothed out small wrinkles on her black tights. This was the fanciest outfit she had, and yet it wasn't enough, it seemed. "Namori!" a voice said.

"Hmm? Oh, Eva." She stood up and hugged the younger girl. "You changed out of your uniform too?"

Eva picked a hair off her pants. "Nah, I just don't wear that thing unless Mustang's there."

"He wasn't there today?"

"No. I saw Hawkeye outside this morning, and she said that Mustang went in to talk to one of the Führer's cabinet members. I tinkered with some radios with Fuery before going to see Havoc."

"How's he doing?"

"Good."

"He know that you're in love with him?"

"If he's perspective. And it's not love yet."

Namori giggled. "Yet."

Eva blushed and played with her belt loop. "Anyways, why are we here?"

"Dunno…"

The door opened then. King Bradley stepped out of the room, his one eye scanning the hallway before finding the girls. "Ah, Miss Vora and Miss Anjyl." The girls immediately stood up and bowed to the man in front of them. While their heads were bowed, they exchanged looks. Both their eyes were a bit scared. This was a big, big thing to talk to the Führer. "Oh, please, relax a bit." They straightened up, Namori blushing a bit. "Now, why don't you come in. Fullmetal and Flame are already inside, waiting."

Namori and Eva walked inside. The room felt heavy with tension. Mustang looked over his shoulder. "Eva…"

"Hey, Mustang." She sat next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, he's just a bit nervous." Bradley said, sitting down in front of them. "See, I just issued some transfer notices for his subordinates."

"Transfer—"

"Fuery is going to the south," Mustang said, "Breda west, Falman north, and Hawkeye—" he hesitated "…Hawkeye is working for the Führer now."

"What? Why?"

No one answered.

"But…they all had things to teach me…" Eva felt bad that the only thing she could think about, the only thing she really _cared_ about was the fact that she needed to learn.

"Have they taught you a lot?" Bradley asked.

"Yeah, tons of things…Hawkeye taught me how to shoot, Falman how to analyze, Fuery how to work technology, Breda how to think quickly and…and Havoc how to last in the military."

"Well, it's quite a shame then. But don't worry, there are plenty of other people who are able to teach you."

_But they wouldn't be right…_

"Which brings us to the reason why you all are here…How is your progress going? What have these lovely girls learned? Mustang?"

"She's a good learner. Quick and dedicated. I haven't seen her shoot much with her gun, but from what Hawkeye tells me, she's really improved."

"I still miss a lot though…but I'm improving."

Bradley nodded. "And with Alchemy?"

Mustang hesitated. "I've been teaching her a lot about Alchemy. I haven't been focusing on any one theme. I've been considering giving her a devise to use Alchemy without having to draw a circle."

Bradley nodded. "And would you like to be in the military someday, Miss Vora?"

Mustang hoped she wouldn't say yes.

Eva was silent for a bit. "I think so. I mean, you've read my essay, so you know my feelings about this matter. But now…"

But now she's realized the military is a dangerous place and she'll leave.

"Thos feelings…they've gotten stronger…I want to fight now more than ever. To join the military would be the best part of my life."

Bradley smirked. "Good, good…that's what we like to hear…" he turned to Namori. "And what about Miss Anjyl? What has she learned?"

"Well…" Edward said. Namori noticed that he seemed tense. He was gripping his pocket watch tightly, and Namori noticed it was stained with blood. She prayed it wasn't his, though a prayer at this point would be like throwing water on ashes. "I had my doubts. She owns one pair of pants, squeaks when she falls or is hit, and acts like a general girl."

Namori blushed.

"But she's a good fighter with a spear and fast with Alchemy."

"I see, I see…And Miss Anjyl, would you be willing to fight for this country?"

Edward glanced at her as she thought.

"I want to change the world," Namori said after a pause. "But I'm not going to sit around here. I guess…If I were to join the military, I'd rather be like Ed and Al and travel around do whatever is needed that way."

Alphonse shifted a bit. Roam around like they do and you'll end up being a pawn…

Bradley nodded. Good, they were both willing to be pawns. Whether or not they're good pawns is another matter entirely. "Alright. You may go now." They left, Edward and Mustang traveling a bit slower, knowing that their students that they have grown attached to have probably condemned themselves.

Shortly after they left, Kaitlin was tugged in by Envy, Armstrong following behind her. "Ah, Miss Wiesel. It's good to see you."

"Uh-huh…"

Armstrong tried not to flinch at her tone. She seemed angry. However, Bradley was not someone to be mad at. Armstrong saluted. "Sir." Armstrong nudged Kaitlin, though she didn't move.

"At ease."

Armstrong sat down in the chair, the wood groaning under his weight. "Why did you want to see us?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see how you all are doing. How has training been for you?"

"Good. Kaitlin is an exceptional learner! She read all the books I gave her in record time! She's also proficient with a sword, which is very impressive since I never taught her how to use one. Her Alchemy is good as well. All in all, she is an amazing child!"

"I'm glad to hear that, especially considering she is our youngest student."

Kaitlin blew a bit of hair out of her face.

"So, Kaitlin, how would you feel about joining the military?"

Kaitlin shrugged and made a small noise.

Silence filled the room, and Armstrong shuffled uncomfortably. "Sir? Is that all?"

Bradley glanced at Kaitlin, who was glaring at him. "Yes…"

Armstrong tugged Kaitlin to her feet and dragged her out of the room before she could say anything that would land her in trouble.

Kaitlin pushed against Armstrong and pulled her arm out of his grip. "Mr. Bradley?"

"Yes?"

"Do you…do you know a boy named Ling Yao?"

"Hmm?"

"I saw him today…he wasn't himself. He was calling himself Greed and wasn't acting like the Ling I know…One of your soldiers knew him as Greed, the cute-ish one with purple eyes."

Bradley didn't answer.

She turned around and glared at him over her shoulder. "I want my Ling back."

"And what makes you think that I have the power to do so?" Bradley finally said after a moment of silence.

"Because you're the Führer. I guess you can do whatever you like, even make somebody completely different." She stared at him. His face didn't show any emotion, but the fact that he refused to answer was answer enough. "I see…I will make sure that he gets back to the way he was before, I promise you that. I'll be going now." Kaitlin said, sticking her hands into her leather jacket and walking out of the room.

"Armstrong?" Bradley said.

"Sir?"

"Make sure to teach that girl how to watch her tongue."

"Yes…sir." Armstrong left the room and Envy walked in, in his military uniform.

"Envy."

"What? You can't say it's my fault that the girl knows about Greed. She was talking to him in the park. Greed already told her his name. It's not my fault!"

Bradley sighed. "We'll just have to keep an eye on this for a while and hope that Kaitlin stays within her bounds. Get Crimson and Miss Fontainein here."

"Yes, Wrath." Envy said, heading outside.

* * *

"Don't you think this is enough?" Mia said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"No." Kimblee said simply kicking dirt over a Transmutation Circle that Mia drew before. "Do it again."

Mia sighed and stepped away, finding another clump of earth. She quickly drew a Transmutation Circle as Kimblee walked towards her, firing a small tube of hardened dirt at him. Kimblee tilted his head to the side to avoid the attack and grabbed the tube, flipping over to the other side as Mia fired another where his feet were.

"You're slowing down, Mia." Kimblee ran faster. "You're almost being too easy!"

Mia tried to prevent herself from giggling at his words as her brain took what he meant another way. She fired a thin pillar of rock at his head which Kimblee easily avoided. She tried this attack again and again, Kimblee slowly getting closer. She quickly tried to draw a new Transmutation Circle, but her hands fumbled a bit. Kimblee ran forward and tackled her, pushing her to the ground.

"Dead." Kimblee said.

"Not yet, Mr. Kimblee." She slammed her hand to the ground and a hand made of rock wrapped itself around Kimblee's neck. Kimblee's eyes widened a bit and Mia held up her hand, a bloody Transmutation Circle on her palm. "I suppose…you're dead now."

Kimblee chuckled. "Yes, yes…you have bested me…" he patted her head. "Very good job." Mia smiled and placed her hand on the ground, removing the hand from his neck. Kimblee stood up and helped her up as well. "When did you cut yourself?"

Mia placed a finger to her lips, showing Kimblee the knife cut on her finger. "Secret."

Kimblee chuckled and took a bandage out of his pocket, wrapping Mia's injured finger.

Mia pouted. "No kiss to make it better?"

Kimblee glanced at her, almost considering it due to how adorable she looked when she pouted. "No."

"Major, Ms. Fontaine."

Kimblee turned. Envy. "Yes?"

"The Führer wants to see you."

"Oh? Why?"

"He'll tell you."

"I see. Come on, Mia."

"I'll be back!" Mia said, running off to the apartment. "I need to change!"

Kimblee stared at her. "You—" he sighed and rubbed his head. "Oh, never mind…" he started walking. "An escort, please, Mr. Envy."

"Yeah, yeah…" Envy said, leading him to the Führer's room.

"Ah, Mr. Kimblee and—where is she?"

"I honestly don't know. She yelled something about changing as she ran off. She honestly didn't look that bad."

"Oh?"

Kimblee shrugged. "Black jeans and a white tee-shirt. It honestly wasn't necessary to change even though it was covered in dirt. She looked perfectly fine"

Bradley decided to not ask why Kimblee was paying so much attention to the outfit of a teenaged girl. "I see…"

Kimblee crossed his legs. "How is the situation in the world now? Do you have anyone that needs to be killed? Crests of blood to be carved? I hope you realize that as soon as you give me the order, I will do it in a heartbeat."

"I do realize that."

"So why am I teaching a girl?"

"How is teaching going?"

"Good, I suppose."

"You've been teaching her how to fight?"

"Yes, of course."

"Does she enjoy fighting?"

"Yes."

"Can you see her in the battlefield?"

Kimblee nodded. "Yes. Easily. I would've liked it if a girl with her attitude participated in Ishval. I doubt she would be like Miss Hawkeye. She'd be more eager, I'm sure."

"Good, good. I was hoping for that. I very much liked her essay, and there was a slight undertone that she would be more than willing to kill for what she believed in."

Kimblee chuckled. "Slight? No, it was quite obvious, at least to me." Kimblee stood up and stood next to the door, slipping a knife out of his pocket.

"Kimblee?"

"I'm preparing for Mia."

Bradley raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, allowing the Alchemist to do whatever he had planned for the girl.

Mia opened the door. "Führer Kin—" Kimblee turned and brought his knife down to stab her. Mia grabbed his arm to stop the knife. Kimblee moved to punch her with his free hand, but she quickly dropped to the floor, close to his legs. Kimblee, off balance from her momentum, stumbled backwards. Mia reached up her skirt and pulled out a knife, grabbing his knee and lightly placing the point to his knee. "Stab, you fall…" she straightened up and pressed the knife to his neck. "And I'll slit your throat while you're down and you're dead." She smiled at him and giggled a bit.

Kimblee smiled and patted her head, causing her to smile widely. "Very good, Miss Mia. You've gotten much quicker with time."

"Thank you. And, as I was saying, hello, Führer King Bradley." She clutched her hands in front of her and bowed low.

"Oh, please, at ease. Have a seat."

"Yes sir." Mia said, turning to the side and pushing her knife up her skirt. Kimblee tilted his head to look at her. She was wearing a simple black business skirt and a white, low-cut, sleeveless top and a plain white camie underneath it. Her hair was done up in a high ponytail, two trails of hair spinning down on either side of her face. A small trail of hair flowed down the back of her head, too much to be confined into a ponytail. She had a pearl necklace around her neck and earrings to match. A couple silver bracelets encircled her left wrist. Kimblee watched as she slipped the knife into a sheath he gave her wrapped around her thigh. He then noticed that he was staring at her leg and politely turned away and sat down in a chair. Mia stood up, smoothed out her skirt and sat down, moving her legs into an angle and crossing her legs at her ankles, resting her hands on her lap. Kimblee glanced at her position. She really looked professional.

"Now then, the reason you're here is because I wanted to check up on your process."

Kimblee opened his mouth, but Mia cut him off. "I've been learning primarily about offensive Alchemy, mostly in the realm of earth or metal transmutations, though we've been recently delving into more elementals. Last week, when it was raining, I attempted some water transmutations." Mia shrugged a bit. "I didn't do so well. Water is too unpredictable to alter."

"That's too bad. We did have an Alchemist that did specify in the transmutation of ice, though he's currently missing in action. Disappeared a year or two after the Ishval war."

Mia shifted a bit, shamed. "I am, however, good with a knife, as the skirmish between myself and Mr. Kimblee has just proven."

"You're quite quick."

"Thank you, sir."

"I think it would be a great honor if you would join the military some day."

Mia looked at Kimblee, and he met her gaze. "I would agree…I'd love it if I could join the military." She turned back to Bradley. "Though I feel like I'd have to perfect my Alchemy a bit more. I don't exactly want to be tied down. I like the freedom that a State Alchemist offers me. Will offer me, that is."

Bradley nodded. "Very good, very good…well, I certainly think you'd be a welcome edition here."

Mia smiled and stood up. "Thank you, sir." She bowed to him.

Kimblee stood up as well. "If that is all—"

"Not quite yet. Kimblee, I need to talk to you privately."

Kimblee looked over his shoulder at Mia. "Go back to my room and practice identifying symbols."

Mia nodded and ran off, softly closing the door behind her.

"Kimblee, I have an assignment for you."

Kimblee smirked widely. "Yes?"

"You've heard of the renegade Ishvalan, Scar, correct?"

Kimblee frowned a bit. Scar was just like Namori, a citizen who got away. It was unacceptable for either of them to live. "Of course."

"He seems to have broken into Dr. Marco's—you remember, him, right?— prison and set him free. I want you to find them. Scar can be killed the moment you find him. When you find Marco, pick a town off the map, any town, and destroy it."

Kimblee smirk grew. "Ah, a cruel job, true, but a job more fitting to my personality than the one I have now…" he put a hand on his stomach, pushing a stone out of his stomach and into his mouth. He stuck out his tongue and took the small stone between his fingers. "I finally get a chance to use this again."

"Are you quite sure that will be enough?"

"Hmm?" Kimblee looked up at Bradley and his eyes widened. There, between his fingers, was a Stone, a small sphere the same color the one between Kimblee's fingers. "Is that—was this made from Ishvalans as well?"

"No. This is made from Dr. Marco's assistants."

Kimblee chuckled and took the Stone. "So his old friends are in here? Really, how vulgar." He stared at the stones in his hand before clenching his fist, allowing his tattoos to engulf the lovely, lovely stones. "Am I excused?"

"You are. I'll send out the order to assign some soldiers to you and inform other bases to help you on your quest. Your funds and files are already waiting in your office."

"Thank you, sir." Kimblee walked out of the room and leaned against the wall. He smirked and started laughing a bit. Finally! He stared at the stone in his hand. Two. He had two! He quickly ran down the hallway, running to his office. About halfway there, he met Namori, calmly walking up the hall towards him.

"Hi Mr.—"

Kimblee placed his hands on her waist and lifted her up in the air, spinning her around a couple of times before placing her on the ground and kissing her forehead. He continued running down the hallway, leaving Namori slightly confused and happy at the same time.

"What…What just happened?"

Kimblee ran into his office.

"Kimblee?" Mia asked.

"Yes?" Kimblee said, opening up a cabinet and taking out his suit.

"What are you—"

"Doing? I'm getting my suit on. Why am I acting like this? Well, as it were, our Führer has given me the opportunity that I have been waiting for. An assignment. Hunting Scar. It's what I really want to do."

"You didn't like teaching me?"

Kimblee glanced at her. "I've learned to enjoy it." He patted her head for good measure and took off his military jacket.

Mia glanced at his muscular arms, his torso hidden under a white tank top. She didn't know he was that…strong. His military jacket hid all of that. She stared at his arms, noting how the muscles pulsed under his pale skin as he grabbed a shirt out of his closet. Before his shirt was put on, she noted some small, white scars on his arms near his shoulders. "I'm not sure I understand…"

Kimblee buttoned up his shirt. "You know of that Ishvalan, Scar?"

Mia nodded.

Kimblee grabbed his white pants. "I've been instructed to kill that Ishvalan. Turn around please."

Mia narrowed her eyes. "Turn—" her eyes widened as she realized one hand was on his military pants, beginning to unbutton them. Mia quickly turned around, blushing a bit. "So where is he?"

"He was here in Central for a bit, but he's most likely fled. I'll collect some data, and I'll be able to infer where he is. It's safe to look."

Mia turned back to him as he tucked his shirt in and put on a white belt. "You make it sound easy."

"For me, Miss Mia, it is." He put on his vest and walked over to Mia, gently slipping his jacket off of her shoulders and putting on. He took his hat off Mia's head and put it on his own.

"Great. So when do we go?"

Kimblee blinked. "Excuse me?"

"When are we leaving to, you know, fight serial killers."

"There is no 'we,' just 'me.'"

Mia frowned. "You mean…I'm not going with you?"

Kimblee shook his head. "No."

"But I can be of help! I'm smart, you know that! I can defend myself too! I won't be dead weight, I promise."

Kimblee put his hands on her shoulders. "Mia," he said firmly, "you aren't coming with me."

Mia looked up at him and opened her mouth once or twice before closing it, glaring at him a bit. "Fine." She walked behind his desk and sat down, crossing her legs and crossing her arms. She turned the desk at an angle, staring out the window. Kimblee stared at her a bit. She had a ring of light around her face, making it hard for him to see her face. She tugged at her hair tie and ripped it out, her hair falling back to its usual position, framing her face. Her face was hard, a mixture of anger and sadness.

Kimblee stared at her for a bit, staring at her lips forming a hard pout. He sighed. "Fine…"

Mia turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"You can…you can come with me."

Mia looked confused for a second before her eyes widened and her face lit up with joy.

"But understand that if you hold me back, stop me from getting what I want, you'll be shipped back here."

She stood up, smiling.

"I'll give you twenty minutes to get your clothes. Make sure to bring some pants, not all dresses." He pulled out a large blue duffel bag, standard military gear. "You have to have enough clothes and other items to fit into this bag. No more."

Mia took the bag and stood on her tiptoes, kissing Kimblee's cheek. "Thank you." Mia ran off.

Kimblee smiled a bit at her and rubbed where she kissed. He then stopped and looked at his hand on his cheek. "Idiot…You're not a teenager…"

* * *

Greed sat cross-legged, a comfortable pose for him. It must be a bit of the Xingese from Ling in him. He stared out over Central, imagining ruling over all that land. He focused inside himself, feeling the torrent of souls in him, including one that probed every inch of his surroundings, waiting for a weak point.

"So what do you think of that new body, Greed?" a voice said.

Greed looked over his shoulder, keeping his pose.

"Decent enough?"

"So you must be Wrath. Yeah, this body's great! Listen to this: This body's royalty! The kid was a Prince of Xing. It gets even better: He let me take control! He thought I could make him emperor or something. Ambitious little brat."

Bradley nodded. "I spoke to him once about politics. His naïve thoughts on leadership were…amusing. He said 'a king's duty is to his people'. As if the people actually matter when ruling a country. What a fool. Look at where his allegiance to his people has gotten him now. Typical human—"

"Shut the hell up!" Greed said. But no, it wasn't Greed, it was the boy, Ling. "Don't underestimate humans!"

Bradley stared at the Homunculus, eye wide.

He shook his head. "I know, I know, he's patient, waiting for any chance he can get. I gotta stay on my toes."

Bradley smirked a bit. "Oh, by the way, do you know a girl named Kaitlin?"

"Kitten, yeah. She's this body's girlfriend. Weird kid."

"She seems…determined on getting this…'Ling' his body back."

"Yeah, I know."

"She even threatened me."

Greed was silent for a couple of seconds, then laughed. "Seriously, she threatened _you_? Man, that's rich."

Bradley narrowed his eyes. "Keep away from that girl, and don't give anything away. She's enough trouble as is." Bradley walked away.

Greed sighed and looked down at the ground below him. "Well, speak of the devil…Your little girlfriend is down there."

_"What! No!"_

Greed smirked and looked down. "Yep, short brown hair and dressed like a boy. It must be the little Kitten." Kaitlin walked along the wall and Greed followed her, ignoring Ling's complaints. When Kaitlin was out of all view from the crowds, Greed covered his legs and part of his torso with his Ultimate Shied and dropped to the ground a few feet in front of Kaitlin. Kaitlin jumped and swore, staggering away. "Wow, the little Kitten has a big sailor's mouth."

Kaitlin glared. "It's you…The imposter."

"Aw, do you have to be so cruel?"

"I want Ling back."

"So you've said. To me, and to Bradley. You're lucky he didn't kill you right there. Insubordination is bad enough in the military."

"Yeah, Armstrong told me that was a bad idea…that I would've been killed in any other situation…but I don't care."

"You don't?"

"No. I hung out with Ling a lot when he was teaching me how to use a sword. He told me about his family and his life, and I told him about mine, opening up to him. I liked him…he was a nice guy…funny and smart and brave."

"Really." Greed couldn't care less.

"Yeah…which is why I want his body back. I like Ling for Ling's personality, not his body, and you took that personality away and locked him up."

"Uh-huh." Greed said, sizing up his arms.

"So I'm going to do whatever it takes—" Greed stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against him. Kaitlin's cheeks slowly turned red. "What are you—"

"30A."

"Huh?"

"30A. Your bra size."

Kaitlin's mouth dropped.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Kaitlin was too shocked to answer.

"It's too bad you're only an A cup…You're quite cute, but you look too much like a boy…No, I lie. There are definitely more guys with a bigger cup size than you!"

Kaitlin wretched herself out of his grip and slapped his cheek as hard as she could. She expected him to curse and grip his cheek, but it didn't happen. Her eyes widened a bit in pain and she wretched her hand away, cursing a bit. Her entire palm was red and was stinging a bit. She shook her hand, feeling like she just slapped steel. She looked up at Greed and saw some dark skin on his cheek, curving around his eye.

"Sorry, Kitten." He said, the dark skin slowly shrinking down to a small point before disappearing.

Kaitlin stared at his cheek. "You're—I was right…you aren't human."

Greed raised an eyebrow. "How did you know I wasn't human?"

Kaitlin shrugged. About a year before, she wouldn't have thought Greed wasn't a human without hard evidence, but maybe Armstrong taught her something. "So what was that dark stuff?"

Greed smirked and took her chin, his skin turning dark, nails sharpening to claws. "It's called my Ultimate Shield, little Kitten. I can make my skin as hard as diamond or as soft as graphite. I can deflect any attack."

"So what are you?"

"I'm a Homunculus."

"That doesn't make sense."

"There's no such thing as—"

"Homunculi are tiny things, not people who take over my boyfriend's body."

"Wrong kind of Homunculus." Greed said and pulled his hand away, his Ultimate Shield retreating back to normal. After a moment or two, he lightly took Kaitlin's wrist and held it up to his face. "Be safe, Kat, you don't know what kind of trouble you'll get in." He lightly pressed his lips to her injured palm and pulled away, disappearing in the shadows.

Kaitlin stared at her hand and smiled. "You called me Kat…"


	10. Chapter 10

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 10

* * *

Kimblee walked to Mia's apartment, hands in his pockets. Mia was due three minutes ago. If he were thinking sanely, he would've left without her. However, something made him not so sane, and he actually wanted Mia with him in his hunt for Scar. It was an odd feeling, a caring feeling. How uncharacteristic of him. He really was not thinking properly after he left prison. He would need to get to the bottom of this soon before it distracted him from his work. After his mission, it might do him good to shell out a couple of dollars to some psychologist who wasn't obsessed with Freud to find a method to his madness. The madness being Mia in this case.

He knocked on Mia's door and opened it. Before the door was even opened all the way, Mia flew into his chest, wrapping his arms around him. "I'msorry! I'msorry!" she said quickly, gripping him tightly. "Pleasedon'tleavmehere!"

Kimblee placed his hands on her shoulders. "Mia, relax, I'm not leaving you."

She looked up at him, a bit panicked. "I didn't mean to be so late, I just—"

Kimblee put a hand over Mia's mouth. "Mia. I'm not leaving yet, and I won't leave without you."

Mia pulled his hand down, a small smile forming on her face. "Really?"

"Really. Now, explain why you are so late. In a normal speed, please."

Mia sighed. "I made a letter to my friends here, telling them I'd be leaving and I'll try to keep them updated with abut what's going on—without revealing any information about our search as to not inform anyone, of course."

"Good girl."

"And I made a letter to my parents too so they won't get worried when my letters take longer to get there."

Kimblee looked at a letter in Mia's hand. "Is that it?"

"Hmm?" she looked at her hand and then shook her head. "No. This is…" she giggled a bit. Kimblee's fist clenched a bit in his pocket. A giggle like that means a boyfriend…wait, why was he mad about this? "This is from my Nii-Nii…" she blushed a bit when she realized what she said. "I mean my big brother."

Kimblee relaxed. "Really? Well, that's fine."

"It wouldn't be fine?" Mia asked, tilting her head.

Kimblee blinked and shook his head. "Just get your clothes packed."

"Alright." Mia walked to the chest at the foot of her bed and opened it. Kimblee turned around as she started to take clothes out. "What's wrong?"

"Well, you're going to be packing your bras and underwear, so I figured I shouldn't look."

Mia looked at him and laughed a bit. "You're too kind, Mr. Kimblee…" Mia shifted through her clothes, pulling out all her pants and relatively casual and easy to move in shirts. She did pack a couple of more fancy clothes, just to impress Kimblee from time to time if needed. "Do you know where exactly we're going?"

He shrugged. "From the heat of Ishval to the cold of Drachma. I'll go wherever Scar leads me, and I will catch him."

"So what clothes do I pack?"

"Pack whatever is comfortable. If needed, I'll buy you some new clothes to fit the weather."

She blushed. "You don't have to…"

"It'll be easier than you complaining about cold or heat."

Mia shifted a bit in her seat, ashamed that he'd think that about her.

Kimblee glanced over his shoulder. "Do you need another bag?"

"No, I think I'm just about good…" Mia packed all the clothes she thought she needed and then stuffed some bras into the bag, running to the bathroom to get other items that all girls needed. She grabbed a handbag for herself and placed her sketchbook under her arm. "I'm ready." She said.

Kimblee turned around. "Good. I'll carry your bag for you."

Mia smiled. "Just give me a second to put this on my board so my friends know where I've gone."

Kimblee nodded and went to her bag. "Are you sure you don't need your plaid underwear?"

"It's not plaid, it's gingham. There is a difference. Plaid is much softer than—" Mia froze. "Wait, how do you know that?" Mia turned around and saw Kimblee had her panties dangling off his thumb and the matching bra hanging off of his finger. Mia stared for a second before her eyes widened. She rushed forward, grabbing the underwear from him and stuffing it in her bag. Kimblee chuckled a bit. "It's not funny…" Mia muttered, her face bright red.

Kimblee simply chuckled and patted her head. "Come along, Miss Mia. We need to find out where Scar is hiding."

Mia nodded her head and followed behind him. Kimblee walked back into Central and into a small room adjacent to entrance. The men stood and saluted as he entered. "At ease." Kimblee said. Kimblee nodded his head towards a chair and Mia sat down, smoothing out her skirt. A couple of men glanced at her and looked at each other, confused. "Ignore her. She's my…assistant."

They still looked awkward, but they did as he asked and did not acknowledge her presence, continuing with their business. A man approached Kimblee and gave him a paper. "Update, sir. It's from last night."

Kimblee read over the paper. "He was seen with a middle-aged man with black hair, correct?" Kimblee asked.

The man nodded. "Yes. That's what it said in the report, sir."

Marco…Kimblee went to a large map and stared at it. He placed his finger on a point. "And this was yesterday…" he muttered, tracing his finger over a railroad line. He stopped his finger over West City. "West…"

"Several of our own people were injured while trying to apprehend him."

"Scar must be getting desperate." Kimblee said, not caring about the injured men. "But that could help us." He touched his chin and smirked. "He's leaving us a good trail. Alright, it's time to get to work. Come along, Mia."

Mia stood up and followed him out to a military car. "Are you sure he's heading west?" Mia asked.

"Quite sure. Why?"

"Well…It doesn't matter."

"Tell me. I value your opinion, Miss Mia."

She couldn't help but blush a bit. Kimblee wondered why she blushed so much when he was around. "Okay…Well I was thinking…I don't know much about Scar or his methods, but if he's leaving us a trail, it could be a trick."

Kimblee smiled. "Very good. I'm glad you noticed that."

"You knew too?"

"Of course."

Mia tilted her head, confused. "So why are we following him if it could be false?"

"Because he would try to lead us off his trail further down the line. We'll chase him, and then he'll change his tactics."

"You sure?"

Kimblee looked at Mia and smiled. "Of course." Their car soon arrived at the train station and the four military men disembarked, Kimblee at the head. At the top of the steps, he stopped and looked back down the steps.

Mia blinked at him and looked over her shoulder, only seeing an old woman with flowers. "Something wrong Kimblee?"

Kimblee smirked a bit. "A suspicious woman…"

"That old lady?"

"But that isn't my job."

"What job? Killing old ladies?"

Kimblee patted Mia's head and walked to their train. "It's nothing, Mia?"

"Kimblee! I don't understand!"

"I'll tell you later."

Mia sighed. "What do you have against old women…?"

* * *

Kaitlin walked in, her hand still a bit stinging from where she slapped Greed, though the center of her palm strangely felt better, perhaps because of the kiss Greed—though it could've been and probably was Ling—kissed it. When she walked into the room, Eva was sitting on her bed, reading a letter.

"From your parents?" Kaitlin asked.

"No, Mia."

"Mia? She leaving?"

Eva handed her the paper.

Kaitlin read through it with extraordinary speed. "Yep. One down."

"Two down, I think."

"Really?" Kaitlin looked around the room and saw a letter on Namori's board. "Yep…Now there's just two of us…You read Namori's letter?"

"No."

"She already leave?"

"I guess so. The sink in the bathroom is filled with drying dye. It's still pretty new."

"Dye? That reminds me that my hair needs dyed." Kaitlin said, pulling her black ends, slightly faded. "Can you read the letter for me while I dye my hair?"

"Of course." Eva opened up the letter. " 'Dear my friends…wow, this is the first time I've ever written a letter before! I'm so excited!' "

"How long does she talk about how she's never written to anyone before?'

"About a paragraph." Eva said, digging in her bag and pulling out some candy.

"Save it for later."

" I will. 'Anyways, Edward and Alphonse are going up north to search for something. I managed to beg enough that they let me join them! I hope that I'll be helpful to them and not be dead weight. I'm a good fighter, I know it. I just need to be of use to them. I'll tell you every single detail of what is going on, and I hope you'll do the same and have a whole bunch of things for me to read when I come back. Love, Namori Anjyl.' Wow, I hope she's safe."

"She'll be fine, I'm sure." Kaitlin said, coming out of the room with a towel draped over her shoulders. "So what do you think of the conversation with Bradley?"

Eva shrugged. "Good, I guess. I'm a bit concerned because of everything that's going on…Everyone's split up now. I'll have to learn just from Mustang now, and maybe Hawkeye if she's got time…" Eva sighed. "I guess I'll have to get actual military men to teach me…"

"You do that and you'll get roped into the military for sure."

"Is it really that bad of a thing?" Eva asked. "I mean, I'll fight for my country any day, and this is the best time to do it. You don't want to?"

Kaitlin shrugged. "Fighting with a sword is pretty interesting, Ling taught me that. But I don't exactly want to actually fight. I had more fun going through the motions than actually fighting…if I do join the military, I'll be an advisor or something and stay in the background. But until then…" Kaitlin leaned back on the bed. "I guess it's Alchemy training for me."

"Mustang told me I could become a State Alchemist if I train hard enough."

"Armstrong told me that when I read all the books he gave me in a week…but…"

"But what?"

Kaitlin sighed. "I know everything about Alchemy, but I'm no good at it. I can't draw the circles fast enough…Armstrong says I'm great, but he also says that I'd be much much much much much much much _much_—"

"I get the picture."

"—better with a pre-made Transmutation Circle…"

Eva went to pet her head, but stopped and rubbed her arm instead. "You're smart. You'll get far here. In some cases, brain is better than brawn. Falman taught me that."

Kaitlin nodded a bit.

"Anyways, I'm going to see Havoc."

"Really? Cool."

"Yeah and…" Eva blushed.

"And what?"

Eva giggled. "And maybe…tell him how much he means to me."

Kaitlin looked at her, a bit fearful. "You sure about that?"

"I think…I think he'll be fine about it. We've shared a couple of…moments before. I think we have the same feelings, no, I _know_ we have the same feelings. Mine might just be a bit stronger."

"Well, good luck."

Eva went to grab some chocolate, but stopped. She didn't need to be hyped up on sugar.

Kaitlin sighed. "People get so hyped up with boys…I'm glad I'm not like that…" she opened up a window and sat, one leg dangling outside. "I wonder how Ling is…" she muttered, looking out at the Central building.

* * *

They were on a train, heading to Scar's last known location. It would take a while, and it was already quite late in the day, so Mia found herself in her own, private, first-class room. She couldn't help feeling a bit spoiled. Four military men were all crammed into one room and had to walk all the way over to the dining car for something to eat and down three more cars if they wanted a drink, and one more car if they wanted a smoke. Meanwhile, Mia got her own room with a rather large bed (for a train, that is) with a table, a bathroom, and train service. She ate some lovely chicken and got a huge bowl of ice cream with some more portable candy on the side. It was getting late so she changed into her pajamas.

Actually, she left her pink pajamas at home—was she already referring to her apartment as a home?—and took one of Seth's button up shirts instead. It was quite comfortable, actually. Roomy. She was sitting on the bed, drawing, when she heard a knock on her door. She opened up the door and smiled at the person. "Hi, Kimblee!"

"Hello—" he froze, staring down at her.

Mia tilted her head. "Kimblee? What's the matter?"

"You—you're not—What are you wearing?"

"My brother's shirt. Do I look nice?"

She looked very nice. Well, when he said 'nice' he meant 'sexy', 'alluring', and 'seductive'. And distracting. He could clearly see her breasts, and it was easy to see that she was not wearing a bra, the valley between her breasts visible to his gaze. Kimblee's mind wandered a bit, realizing how if he just brushed some hairs off her shoulder, taking her shirt with the hair, one breast would be fully revealed to him. Or, if he unbuttoned two more buttons, he'd be able to see both of her lovely breasts in full…it was tempting, and a part of him wanted to reach forward and make her squirm as he played with those lovely objects. He then remembered who he was, his age, and the girl in front him. He controlled himself.

Kimblee reached down and buttoned two buttons on her shirt, covering her breasts. "You're too seductive for your own good…"

"I'm sorry?"

Kimblee blinked. Did he actually say that out loud?

"I'm…seductive?" She shifted from one foot to the other, thighs rubbing together.

"Well…" he cleared his throat. "That is neither the time nor the place. How is your compartment? I hope you are comfortable."

Mia smiled and sat on her bed, leaving the former conversation behind. "Very comfortable. The food here is really good."

"Good?"

"Well, considering it's a train…yeah." She reached over and picked up a lollypop and held it up to him. "Want some?"

"No thank you."

"You sure? It's goooood."

"I'm fine, I assure you. Now, I need to talk business with you."

Mia stood up, feeling that it was needed. "Yes?"

"Tomorrow, we'll be stopping at a railway at West City. I have a feeling more information will come in the morning, so we must be awake and ready." He placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "So don't stay up late drawing or studying or whatever else you do."

Mia nodded. "Yes, Kimblee. Oh wait—" she smacked her heals together and saluted. "Yes, Major, sir!"

Kimblee chuckled and moved her arm away from her head. "Please, don't be so formal."

"Yes sir."

"Still too formal."

"Yeah, Zolf."

"A bit informal. You aren't on a first name basis with me quite yet."

"Yes, Kimblee."

Kimblee patted her head. "Oh, by the way, don't salute while wearing that. I can see your underwear."

Mia's eyes widened, her cheeks turning red.

Kimblee chuckled and walked away. "Too bad it isn't those plaid ones."

"Gingham!" Mia yelled after him.

Kimblee chuckled, waving over his shoulder.

Mia closed the door and curled up in bed. She smirked a bit. She was…seductive?

* * *

Eva owned two skirts and one dress. She figured the dress would be too much, so she simply wore a green, knee-length skirt. She knocked on the door and opened it. "Guess who."

"Back already, little girl? Didn't you just see me this morning?"

Eva gave the cutest pout-slash-frown she could. "Should I leave?"

"No, no, stay. It's boring otherwise." He reached over and grabbed a small box, shaking it a bit. "Can you give me a light?"

Eva looked around for something to light his cigarette. "Uh…"

"Can't you use Alchemy?"

"I'm not Mustang; I don't have his gloves."

"Ah, that's fine…"

"Sorry…You know, your loss in Mustang's office is really noticeable."

"Really?"

"Yeah…the stink of your cigarettes is gone…"

"Hey it's not—"

"Stink, I know…When I noticed the smell was gone, it made me miss you more…"

"Really?" Havoc felt a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah…I never really realized until you were gone how much I missed you…how much you meant to me…" She looked up at him. "You're really important to me. You were always nice to me, and I knew from the moment you smiled at me that…" she paused, trying to think of the right words. "I knew that you would be really important, and that you'd become a major part of my life…and when you got injured, I was really hurt, but all of our talks…I knew what my feelings were…"

"Oh, no…Eva…" Havoc rubbed his head.

She frowned a bit.

"God, I never expected for this to happen…Listen, you're a nice girl. You're smart and funny and great to be around, but I don't think of you in that way. You're like a little sister to me…besides, I'm too old for you."

Eva wanted to say something, but no words came to mind and her throat was clenched tightly, unable to say anything.

"Eva?"

A tear slowly tracked down her cheek, and she quickly rubbed it away, but more tears started to come.

"I'm sorry, Eva. It's just…it's just how things are."

She didn't want to hear that. She didn't want to hear anything like that. Eva ran out of the room, tears tracking down her face. As she ran down the hall, she crashed into Mustang. Mustang started, staring down at her. "Eva? What's—"

Eva wrapped her arms around Mustang and cried into his chest.

Mustang looked around and sat Eva down on a bench, sitting next to her. He softly petted her head, running his fingers through her hair. "What's wrong?"

"Havoc…"

Mustang froze. "Is he hurt?"

"N-no…"

He relaxed, glad that at least one of his subordinates wasn't hurt. "What's the matter?"

She simply cried.

"Eva, what's wrong?"

"I like him…I like him a lot…I'm just a sister to him…"

"Oh, Eva…" he hugged her closer and rubbed her head. "There's thousands of other guys in this world. They'll be one for you…"

"But I don't want another guy…I want _him_."

And in his room, the need to smoke only increased as Eva's crying echoed down the hall.


	11. Chapter 11

Very, very, very late update. Very sorry. I'll blame college

* * *

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 11

Kimblee shook Mia awake. Mia sat up quickly, her long hair a massive tangle. It reminded Kimblee of that one mythological tale…What was it? "We're ten minutes away from our destination. Get dressed."

"We're…in…West City, right?"

Kimblee nodded. "Just wear something with sleeves, and you'll be fine."

"How did you know—"

"That you were concerned about your clothes? You aren't hard to read, Mia."

"Uh-huh…" She lightly pushed his arm, stumbling out of bed. "Leave."

"Yes, Mia." Kimblee bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. He then smirked and laughed. "Medusa, that's it…"

* * *

"We're going up north?" Namori said, sounding wary, hoping he'd say 'no'.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" Edward said, taking of his red jacket.

"I lived in Ishval. There's a reason my clothes are so short!"

"I thought it was because you're a flirt."

Namori blushed, covering her cheeks. "I'm not a flirt…"

"Really?" Edward said, adjusting some fur in his jacket, putting another piece of red fabric over it. "Considering your cleavage, your short dresses and skirts, it seems like you're craving for attention."

Namori clenched her fists and drove her foot into the ground. "I am not a flirt!" she yelled. Edward and Alphonse stared at her a bit. She glared at them before her gaze softened and she relaxed her pose, placing a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from."

Edward blinked and then clapped his hands, placing them on his jacket. The red fabric sealed the fur lining inside the jacket. "It's fine. It's actually nice to see you pissed once in a while. You're too nice for your own good."

"Thank you!"

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Oh…"

"Look, I'll buy some new clothes for you."

She blushed. "I can't let you—"

"Naomi, I'm a State Alchemist. I have a—" he cleared his throat professionally "—a rather generous grant provided. I can pay for some girly clothes."

"Well, if you insist…"

"I do. Besides, I already placed an order at the shop." Edward tossed his State Alchemist watch to Alphonse, and he ran off to buy some clothes.

"So where are we going exactly?"

"Briggs. It's as far north as you can go while staying into the country."

Namori gripped her arms and shivered. "I don't like the sound of this…"

Edward swallowed. "Same here…"

"I think you're panicking for a different reason."

"Well, we're going up to see Major General Olivier Armstrong."

"Oh, is that Major Armstrong's brother?"

Edward was silent. "Uh…yeah. His…brother."

Namori tilted her head a bit, but didn't say anything. Namori took out a book and read until Alphonse came back with a large bag of clothes. Namori put the book away, blushing. All of those were for her? She couldn't accept that. "You don't have to do this—"

"We're doing it." Edward said, grabbing her arm and dragging her inside the train, just as the whistle blew. Edward fell into his seat, Alphonse across from him. Namori sat in the corner, smoothing out her long dress. "We'll get to North City around mid-day, and we'll hitch a ride to get to Briggs."

"How far is Briggs from North City?" Namori asked.

Edward shrugged. "A couple miles."

"How many couple miles?"

"A lot of couple miles."

"Oh."

"It'll be fine."

Namori took out a red jacket with black fur. She put it on, finding it heavy on her shoulders, not like any clothes she's worn before. It would certainly not be fine.

* * *

"You almost done?" Kimblee asked. They were nearing the station, and he expected to be the first one off. However, Mia was still getting dressed.

"Almost." Mia said, sucking in her stomach and buttoning her jeans.

"You were almost done three minutes ago."

"Patience, Kimblee." Mia said, getting on her boots. "Girls take a long time getting dressed, and my hair is down to my waist. It takes a lot of work."

"I'd be more than willing to cut it."

"Do not touch my hair."

Kimblee sighed, drumming his fingers against the wall. She opened up the door, her bag in hand. He grabbed the bag and her wrist and towed to the door, reaching it just as the train rolled to a stop. He stepped out of the train, walking towards the train station. He opened up the door for her. "After you."

Mia smiled, adjusting her red shirt. The shirt sleeves were made to fall down to show her shoulders, some black straps visible. He wasn't sure if that was her bra, or some complicated mechanism made to hold the shirt up. But he wouldn't spend too much time thinking about it. Some military men saluted as he walked in.

"Phone for you, sir."

Mia sat down and listened to Kimblee's side of the conversation.

"I see…He managed to escape us again, did he?" Mia winced at his tone. Never good to be on the receiving end of that. Kimblee hung up the phone. His eyes found a railway map just over Mia's head. "This an accurate map of the West area, right?"

A rather cute conductor turned and looked at the map. "Uh, yes sir."

"This was the place he last sighted…right here. And West City is there…Scar and Marco must've disappeared between the two places."

Mia looked up at the map. No stops.

Kimblee looked at the various geographical landmarks, paying particular attention to the mountains. "Trains slow down when they turn, but how much speed do they lose?"

Huh?

Kimblee turned to look at the men behind him. "Is it possible the two we're looking for jumped off?"

Oh. That made sense.

"It would've been very dangerous, sir, but yes, it's possible."

"You don't say?" He turned back to the map, touching his chin. "All right then, after jumping off, which way did they go? North, or south?" He smirked.

"You know?" Mia asked, seeing his smirk.

He glanced at Mia. "Do you know?"

Mia looked at the map. "Lots of big circles down south. Big cities. It'd be a bit hard for him to blend…but north is really cold so let's go south. Please?"

Kimblee chuckled. "Mr. Conductor, please get a high-speed military train. Comfort second."

Comfort second? Ugh…

"And send someone to buy some nice clothes for this young lady." Kimblee said, taking her hand and pulling her out of her chair. "Something fitted for warm weather, but not to gaudy. I don't want her looking like an idiot."

"Yes sir?"

Kimblee gave the man a stern look. "Are you questioning me?"

"No sir!"

Kimblee waved him off. "Come Mia. We have to find where the rats slipped off to."

* * *

Armstrong tossed his jacket to the side. Kaitlin took off her leather jacket and tossed it dramatically as well, flexing her nonexistent muscles. Around the training area, military men moved away from the mat where they fought. Both Armstrong and Kaitlin were known to use various objects to fight or shield with (Kaitlin usually used men as a shield). Armstrong ran forward and tried to grab Kaitlin. She ducked under his arms and hopped to the side. She jabbed at his side and jumped away as Armstrong swung his arm at her. The first time they sparred, she underestimated him, thinking that big was synonymous with slow. She was mistaken. He was incredibly fast. So all Kaitlin could do was jump around, duck under his massive arms or legs, occasionally jabbing his side if he had a chance.

Armstrong punched over her head and Kaitlin jumped back quickly, her feet clanging against some hand weights. She grabbed one and threw it at Armstrong's head. While he purposefully aimed above her, Kaitlin was encouraged to aim for his head, in order to practice for a real fight. She got better at throwing things. Armstrong tilted his head, and the weight flew by him harmlessly. He punched at Kaitlin and she jumped to the side—

And slipped and fell. Kaitlin groaned as Armstrong grabbed her head and pulled her back into a standing position. "What did you slip on?"

"Nothing, I think. Maybe my center of gravity is off…Or I'm just clumsy." Kaitlin groaned. "Haven't tripped over nothing in a while…this is a new record…"

"Major?" Kaitlin looked over her shoulder to see one of Armstrong's men—some guy with sandy hair and a tendency to moan for a Ross; she forgot his name—approaching. "Colonel Mustang wants to see you."

"Do you know where Eva is?" Kaitlin asked. When Mustang carried her back to her apartment, she had been crying. She got better the next day, but she still didn't smile as wide.

"Hmm? Oh. Shooting range."

Kaitlin ran off, ignoring Armstrong telling her to practice this and that. She'd talk to Eva and then the two of them would prowl the walls, looking for Ling. Helping looking for Kaitlin's boyfriend would help Eva get over her crush, right?

Kaitlin stopped walking. Oh, that was a horrible idea…Oh well. She continued on to the shooting range. The range was empty except for Eva, curled up in the corner. Oh great. Now she had to console her or something. She didn't know how to do that. Kaitlin patted Eva's shoulder, causing her to look up. "Oh, hey…"

"There there…"

"I'm fine."

"Alright." Kaitlin dropped her hand and wiped it on her pants. "Wanna…shoot something?"

"I'm good." She said, rubbing her eyes a bit. "I've been practicing shooting with a soldier for an hour now." Since Hawkeye left, Mustang had to get her another soldier to help her shoot. Neither of them were too happy about that development, but Eva wanted to keep. "I've gotten a lot better. I've stopped freaking out at gunshots, and I've gotten closer to the center of a person. I can't shoot arms, legs, and I'm not great at headshots, but the chest is all the matters."

"Then I guess you shoot to kill, huh?"

"Whenever you shoot, you are aiming to kill. That's what happens." Eva shrugged and stood up, smoothing out her skirt. Since the Havoc incident, Mustang bought her a skirt that went down to her knees. He figured mercy was needed. "So let's do something else while our teachers are occupied."

"I was going to look for Ling."

"Oh your pervert boyfriend."

"He's not perverted."

"But he's your boyfriend, right?"

Kaitlin blushed. "Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know."

"How can you not know?"

"Well…he's really cute, and sweet, and funny, and has awesome muscles, but—"

"How can there be a but to that?"

"Well—"

"Does he have a nice butt?"

"I don't know?"

"You've looked at his butt, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't know what constitutes a cute butt."

"Did you want to touch it?"

"Wha—what kind of question—never mind. I'm leaving."

Eva followed behind her. "Come on, Kaitlin." She said in a singsong voice.

Kaitlin ran away, Eva behind her. Eva was faster, but Kaitlin was swifter. Kaitlin ducked and swerved around many different obstacles, leaving Eva to slip after her.

Mustang and Armstrong watched them. "Your girl is fast." Mustang remarked.

"That she is. She might not be a good fighter, but she's quick on her feet…when she doesn't trip over them."

Mustang chuckled and then frowned. "Reminds me of the snakes in Ishval…You know, those assassins who slipped into towns and killed quickly."

Armstrong nodded as Kaitlin tripped and fell. Eva jumped on her and tasseled her hair, Kaitlin letting out a giant no.

"Though they weren't as clumsy."

* * *

The train was very uncomfortable. Not the train itself; that was actually not that bad. No, the only real problem was the chill that was radiating from Kimblee. Mia tried to be nice and talk to him, but he answered curtly, ignoring her. She frowned and brought out her sketchbook, drawing until the train slowed down.

"Sir, we've reached one of the mountain curves. Do you want to get out and investigate?"

"Of course." Kimblee said, standing up. Mia offered her hand, but he ignored it. "Send out various parties to search the area. Keep an eye and ear out for any suspicious activities."

He jumped out of the car and Mia followed behind him, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. There was a crate being set out, with a map lying on top of it. He stood with his back to the valley, and looked down at the map. Men scattered as Kimblee looked over the map. "Make a chair for yourself, Mia. We'll be here a while."

Mia nodded and dropped to her knees, quickly drawing a Transmutation Circle on the rock, using her inking pen. A bright light appeared and she settled into the rocky chair. It wasn't much, but it would do. She sat so she was facing him, and two higher ranking military officers flanked the sides.

Hours passed, and Kimblee kept his gaze on the map. Mia wasn't sure what he was searching for, but she didn't ask him while he was so focused. "If he was going to jump from the train, this is where he would do it." Kimblee mused to himself. "The engine's speed would decrease here. So what we need to know is which way he headed after reaching this point. Any Scar sightings?" Kimblee asked, this time the question directed towards his men.

"No," one man said, "nothing definite."

"That's odd…up until now, he's been deliberately conspicuous."

"I have a report, sir!" a young man said, catching one of the officer's attention. Kimblee didn't seem to care. "There was a small boat that was stolen near the river, about two-hundred meters south of here!"

"Was it Scar?" the officer asked.

"There aren't any eyewitnesses to confirm that, sir."

"Look into it."

"Yes sir!"

Another men ran up to the other man. "Reporting sir! We've talked to an old man who lives nearby that claims to have seen a suspicious pair of men who were heading west."

The officer pondered that. "Could be our targets…Take a search party to investigate."

"Sir!"

Kimblee still ignored them, focused on the map.

"West and south…" Mia muttered. "Sounds like wild geese…" She swore the corners of Kimblee's mouth twitched, but it was hard to tell. Since he was obviously listening, she decided to get back in his good graces and get his attention back on her. "Mr. Kimblee, you're obviously thinking of something important. What have you discovered?"

"I'm not sure yet." He admitted. "On the map, looks like there's a road near here that leads north. There. What is that?"

"It was an old logging road that passed through the mountains to the north area." An officer answered. "But there were too many rock slides, so they had to close it down. Why do you ask?"

Kimblee looked over the green forest at the foot of the mountain. "I want to check that road out. I'll take four men with me. Come, Mia."

Mia stood up and ran to his side as they began their trek down the mountain and into the woods. Kimblee took her hand to help her over logs and rocks, but he still stayed silent otherwise. Suddenly, they stopped walking, their way blocked by a giant landslide.

"There's several other places further on where rockslides have closed the road." An officer explained.

Kimblee stepped forward, examining the rockslide. Mia stepped beside him. "I hear water…" Mia muttered.

Kimblee moved his foot, looking at the path of the water. "The water's flow here has been altered."

"Yes sir. Does that mean something?"

Kimblee knelt down and picked up a rock, smirking widely.

"For an Alchemist skilled in destruction, clearing even this big an obstacle would be a simple task."

"Sir?" the officer asked, though it all clicked together in Mia's head.

"And going by that," Mia said, pieces clicking together, "it'd be simple to destroy the mountain to cover their path again."

Kimblee nodded and handed the rock to the officer. "Transmutation marks…" he said in wonder, looking at the rectangles carved into the rock.

"Send the soldiers north! Now, Miss Mia…Are you ready to brave the cold north?"

"No."

Kimblee chuckled, leading her back to the train. "Oh dear, do I have to send you back to Central."

"No." Mia said. "I'm just not looking forward to it…"

* * *

Namori wasn't looking forward to traveling North, especially considering the cold. But then she saw it. Snow. She ran out of the station, hastily handing over her ticket so she could step outside into the snow. She laughed and twirled around. "Oh, this is beautiful!" Namori stuck out her tongue and caught a snowflake. She giggled and licked her lips. "Yummy!"

"Yummy?" Ed asked, rubbing his butt as Al led him over to a bench. "How is snow yummy?"

Namori tapped her chin and then smiled. "It just is!"

"You're weird…"

"Don't be so mean to her, Brother. The snow really is amazing."

Ed agreed and then his eyes lit up, and the two of them talked about a part of their childhood. Namori thought it would be mean to listen, so she stood in the snow and let the cold flakes fall on her cheeks, melting there.

"Hey, Namori!" Edward called. "We're going to get some food before the next part of our journey."

"Okay! I'll get to write then!"

"You've been writing the entire time." Edward said, ordering some soup.

"I can't help it. I've got to tell them everything. They're my friends!"

"You act like you've never had friends before."

"Well…" Namori chewed her pen. "I haven't. I've usually been avoided. You know, because of my background." She gripped her pen tightly. "I hate it. I really do…but I can't fight it." Suddenly she started crying, tears mingling with snowflakes.

Alphonse freaked out a bit. But Edward didn't seem as caring. "What do you have to cry about? You've been pretty lucky, I think. Look where you are. Besides. Everyone here has some sort of tragedy." Edward clenched his automail fist. "What makes you think your story is more tragic than any of ours? You know, you're kind of an attention whore."

"Brother! That's just inappropriate!"

"No, it's alright, Alphonse…" The food was placed in front of her and she slowly began to eat. She slowly began to realize that Edward was right. She really loved attention, to be noticed and liked. She grit her teeth. And she hated him for figuring it out.

* * *

"You aren't tired, are you Miss Mia?"

Mia shook her head. It was really late, but Mia wasn't tired. She was excited. Maybe a bit of adrenaline was inside her, getting her ready for a fight with Scar. She actually wasn't thinking about Kimblee at all, which was a nice change of pace. She hated that hormone. She hated all hormones.

All around them rang phones, the mouths of military officers, and their feet. She had gotten a headache within ten seconds, but Kimblee still seemed calm. Well, he fought in a war, he ought to be calm around noise.

"Any new information?" Kimblee asked the officer in front of him.

"By the sound of this place, about a hundred…" Mia muttered.

Kimblee cuffed her head as another man ran forward. He saluted quickly, not waiting for the at ease command to drop his arm. "There was a man fitting Scar's description seen at the station one stop ahead, sir."

"Are you sure?" Mia said before she could stop herself. "We've been chasing a lot of leads lately." Kimblee didn't cuff her this time, though she was expecting it.

"Eyewitnesses saw him getting aboard a military train heading for the Briggs station."

"Was anyone with him?" Kimblee asked.

"A middle aged man with dark hair, just like the report says."

A small smile crossed Kimblee's face.

"I'll have the train stopped at once." The officer said.

"That won't be necessary." Kimblee said, holding out his hand, showing the tattoo. "We don't want him jumping off the train after all." He took his hat from Mia's lap and stood. "Alright," he said, his voice echoing throughout the room, "from now on, this job is mine and mine alone. I don't want you people getting in my way, you understand me?"

Mia stood up and quickly followed after him, buttoning up her black coat. "We've got him?"

"We've got him. Oh, by the way…" Kimblee cuffed the back of her head. "That's for speaking out of turn."

"Yes, Mr. Kimblee…" she muttered, rubbing her head.

"It'll be a while until we catch up." Kimblee said, helping Mia into the train car. "You should get some sleep while you can." The train jumped to a start. Kimblee moved his legs shoulder width apart, keeping a firm footing while Mia lurched forward into Kimblee. "Watch your step now, Miss Mia." Kimblee said, voice mocking.

Mia blushed and slowly moved to the wall, lying down on what resembled a sack of potatoes. "I don't get one thing though…You said that the job was yours, so no one should follow you, yet I'm here."

"Why, I don't want to leave you in bad company, and that rabble we left was certainly bad company." Kimblee said, sitting on the floor, chuckling to himself. He dipped his hat so his eyes were covered, crossing his arms over his chest. He quickly fell asleep. Mia looked at him for a couple of seconds before smiling and curling up.

She awoke to a freezing cold air bursting through the room. She quickly sat up, rubbing her arms. "What—" Her eyes widened. Kimblee had the door open, one hand gripping a handrail. "What the fuck are you doing, Kimblee!" She yelled, getting to her feet.

"Why, jumping, of course." He said with a smile to her. He then turned to the conductor. "Match its speed!"

"Kimblee, you're insane! You're fucking insane!"

Kimblee simply smiled at her, turned his body so he was facing a part of the train that was flat boards and jumped, keeping a hand on his hat. He raised a hand as he landed, and the train slowed down.

"Why are we slowing down?" Mia yelled at the conductor.

"Major Kimblee's orders. We're to stay out of the way while he—"

"He could _die_!"

There was an explosion radiating from the train Kimblee suicidaly jumped on.

"Great, he's dying already." Mia grabbed the metal wall and drove her head into it. "Stupid Kimblee…jumping off trains…blowing shit up…not using both hands to land…did he really need to keep hold of his stupid hat? His stupid sexy hat…"

Mia blinked and drove her head into the wall again.

"I hate men."


	12. Chapter 12

A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile

Part 12

* * *

Mia jumped off the train, the snow crunching under her black boots. The train had stopped a while ago, though the military men had told her to stay inside to not have her get in the way of their work. After five minutes, she thought they had done enough of a job and was ready to confront her teacher. She started walking, muttering to herself as she approached the lights of the men. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to bash his head in, that idiot!" She wasn't joking. She'd bash his head in with whatever part was around. Since there was an explosion, she'd be able to utilize some metal as a way to bash his head in. She could see him now, standing tall amongst the snow, waving away men as they tried to stick bandages on his forehead. He'd look at her, smile and say "Miss Mia" like he always does. She'd then bash his head in.

Mia rounded the train and froze. At the base of the train was a large red stain on the snow. Some blood was still dripping down from the train. Mia's eyes scanned the train, noticing the red smear on the door itself. He must've been thrown into it and then…Mia couldn't move. Her body was frozen in place, the entire world shut down, only consisting of herself and Kimblee's blood. She watched as snow coated the puddle of blood and military men fiddled about, talking to the conductors. How much blood was that?

A military man noticed her and approached her. "Miss, you shouldn't be out here."

His voice was just a buzzing in her ear. How much blood was left in Kimblee's body? Would it be enough to survive?

"Come, I'll take you back to Central."

Mia seemed to wake up. "Central?" Mia said, voice low. "Why?"

"Well, you have no need to be here."

"Of course I have a need to be here." Mia glanced at him, her eyes lost of all emotion. "Kimblee had me here for a reason. I don't think he'd like it if I just left all of a sudden."

"Miss, I really must insist that—"

"And I must insist that you take me to see Kimblee right now." Mia walked over to the bloodstained train and rested her hand on the rail, the puddle of blood at her feet. "As his apprentice, I must be at his side at all times in order to learn, and this will not hinder my progress. My things are in the train. I will be able to gather those on my own in order to give you more time to work. I realize it will take you time in order to get a car that will be able to drive in this terrain, so I will give you thirty minutes to get one here. Any longer though, and I will get impatient, and I will be forced to leave on my own since I obviously cannot trust you to handle it. The thirty minutes will start as soon as you get a phone. No. I cannot wait that long. It starts now."

"Miss, please get back on the train—"

Mia stood up on the train, reaching her hands behind her to grip the railing. She leaned forward, her eyes looking through the man in front of her. Her eyes didn't have anything in them. No anger, nothing. It was cold. The man thought that Kimblee was in front of him, his eyes possessing that same cool, disproving gaze as the girl. "That's an order, sir."

* * *

"Where are we going, Mustang?"

"I've noticed you practicing with your Alchemy. Hey, don't eat those jellybeans, they'll make you fat."

"You just noticed?" Eva could've been referring to the Alchemy or the jellybeans.

Mustang snatched the jellybeans from Eva's hand and put it in his pocket. "You're very good at it. The Alchemy I mean. I think it's time that you progressed and show what you can really do." He walked into the firing range.

"Clear the range!" A military man yelled, his voice echoing throughout the entire range, over the gunshots. "Colonel Mustang in block five!"

Many of the military men stopped what they were doing and left, though a choice few moved to a corner stocked with bright red fire hydrants. Eva's eyebrow raised, wondering how much of a mess Mustang would make.

Mustang slipped on a white glove, adorned with a Transmutation Circle. Eva glanced at it, noticing the salamander lying on the bottom of the circle. She remembered one of her fantasy books that she read. There was a salamander in that, one made of fire. How odd that something from mythology was present on something that was scientific.

Mustang snapped his fingers and a stream of Alchemy burst from his fingertips, streaking towards the target. Eva's eyes widened as the flaming bolt struck the figure, causing the paper to burst into flames. Two men ran and sprayed the paper with foam, the fire quietly dying, leaving an ashy paper behind. "You see that? That's the real power that Alchemy can do. Now it's time for you to try."

"I've only really done simple things." Eva said after a while. "I know I've been toying with a lot of elemental Alchemy and trying to narrow it down, but I haven't gotten there yet. And by there I mean at the level of actually—" Eva looked at the burned paper man. "I could only use a gun, and only partially well.

"You've done a lot of practice with your gun and your Alchemy."

Eva looked up at Mustang, wondering what he was getting at.

"Now, you need to combine them."

"Alchemic gun?"

"What? No! I mean rudimentary Alchemic skills with the combat of a gun!"

"Oh."

Mustang pulled out one of his gloves, though it wasn't made for his hands. It was smaller, a teenage girl's hand. "Here."

"Eh?"

"Go on. Put it on. All you have to do is snap your fingers. It's made of ignition cloth, so when it rubs together, it creates a spark. You then use your Alchemy and it's easy."

"It's not easy!"

"Just try, and I'll help you."

Eva nodded and held her hand out in front of her. She pressed her middle finger and her thumb together and slid them against each other.

_CLICK._

The sound was quiet at first, but it rang in Eva's ears, echoing its way inside her, vibrating her bones, her heart. The tiny sparks soon transformed into a ragged fiery bolt. The force of the Alchemy blew wind into her face and knocked her back. Mustang grabbed her arm, steadying her. "Powerful, isn't it?"

Eva nodded. "Did I hit him?"

"Well, almost…"

Eva looked over. She had missed the target by a good thirty feet, and almost hit a military man. He was sitting on the floor, cowering, eyes fixed on an ugly black mark above head.

"Only his eyebrows are singed. He's fine." Mustang said with a smile.

"Well that's good. Well, I think we're done for the day. Let's go get some coffee. I hear there's a place that loads your coffee with chocolate and caramel."

Mustang grabbed her hand. "No."

"Mustang, I suck at this. I can't—I don't think I can—"

"I'll help you. You won't get better if you don't try."

"But—"

"Everyone's counting on you to get this right, even if they aren't here. Hawkeye, Brenda, Fuery, Falman…Havoc."

Havoc's name rang through her as if she had snapped her fingers again. Eva nodded. Havoc wouldn't want her to stop if he was here…

For a couple hours, Mustang tried to help her aim. He'd stand behind her, moving her arms to teach her how target, how to anticipate the arch, how to follow through to make sure the target was hit. She flinched a lot though, and that messed her up, the bolt flying wildly. She knew about the explosion that would happen, and always flinched before it came. Even if she didn't flinch, the air blowing back at her would usually mess her up. Mustang was right behind her, so she couldn't fly back, his chest a barrier. It didn't do much good though, and he couldn't stop her swinging arm as she lurched back.

"Your stance really isn't secure…" Mustang muttered as another black patch smoked above a military man's head. Many men got fire blankets and wrapped themselves in the cloth. They were ordered to stay, but they'd be a fool to not protect themselves. "I remember Hawkeye saying that while you missed a lot, you were always steady with a gun."

Eva didn't know what changed. She wasn't high on sugar or anything. All she was doing was snapping her fingers. "Maybe I'm too relaxed…Can I eat some jellybeans?" She didn't wait for an answer, reaching her hand into his pockets.

Mustang pulled her hand away. "Eva, can you please be serious here?"

"I'm trying. What's the big deal anyways?"

Mustang looked down at the girl in front of him. What was the big deal? Everything, really, especially in her wide brown eyes. He sighed and turned to the military men, dismissing them. They didn't waste a second dropping their things and running out of the room. "You have your gun? Why don't I see how you're doing with that?"

And have some use to this day. It wasn't said, but Eva suspected it was there. She pulled out her gun from her bag and started to put it together. She always undid her gun, ever since she read a book about how a man accidently shot himself when the safety was on.

"What kind of gun is it?" Mustang asked, finding the silence odd. He had never been in the same room as Eva when she practiced with Hawkeye or, more recently, a military man. She must've been used to being silent, but it just concerned Mustang. It was very out of character for her.

"A glock."

"How many shots?"

"Seventeen."

"That's a good amount."

"Yeah." She shoved the ammunition into the gun and placed it on the table. She half skipped over to grab two orange earmuffs. She handed one pair to Mustang and situated her own on her head.

"Ah, thanks."

"What?"

"I said thanks!" Mustang yelled.

"I know." Eva said, showing him that she only had one ear covered. She put the earmuffs on completely and fixed them on her head. "How many shots?"

"Try six!" Mustang yelled, holding up six fingers.

Eva nodded and steadied herself, both hands on her gun. She fired once, twice, six times. Mustang pressed a button on the wall and the paper figure shuttered, floating towards them on a wire. It always reminded Eva of clothes lines, bringing a single sheet of fabric to her for her to analyze.

"Wow…" Mustang commented. "Three on the arms, one in a leg, and one on the chest. You only missed once."

"Better aim than I have with Alchemy…"

Mustang rubbed his chin, thinking. "Alchemic gun…"

"Didn't you outlaw that?" Eva fished the jellybeans out of Mustang's pocket and started eating. He didn't block her this time.

"Maybe we can use that…If we can make one…"

"Mustang?"

"How are you with making things?"

"Like fixing a radio? Pretty good, I guess."

"How about building something that can cause sparks?"

Click.

"Mustang, where can we get flint?"

* * *

Namori didn't find the snow entertaining anymore. It was horrible. It stuck to her face and hair and melted and the water froze on her face. She tucked her hair into her fluffy hat and hood, and hoped that she'd stay warm, but the cold seeped into her body and chilled her down to her marrow. She wasn't the worst off though. The man in the wagon who took them as close to Briggs as possible warned about automail. Edward seemed fine, if not cold, but there was no telling what would happen later as the storm blew around them. They had walked for a long time, and she wanted to rest, but it was never good to rest in a blizzard. Namori trudged forward, her teeth frantically chattering. Edward and Alphonse yelled over the howling wind, talking about their teacher who braved the snow. She couldn't be human, whoever she was.

A large figure stomped in the snow behind Namori. They all froze and slowly craned their heads back. "Bear!" the boys yelled, but Namori wasn't sure what bear had a Mohawk.

Edward jumped back and clapped his hands, placing one hand on his metal arm. A blade emerged, his white glove flying off in the snowstorm. The bear raised its arm, revealing that it was made of metal, though it wasn't shaped like a hand. It reminded Namori of a lizard that lived in rivers, its mouth large enough to swallow someone. His other hand held a gun, and he fired at Alphonse. It didn't have bullets, but a net, and Al was pinned to the snow.

The crack of the gun echoed in her head, and she stumbled backwards, gripping her head. For a second, the snow melted and revealed barren ground untouched by rain. Fear rose up inside of her, followed by a will to fight. The emotions battled, and she was torn, not sure if she should fight or run away. She opted for the latter, pulling a piece of metal out of her pocket. She had made it just in case something happened and there was no metal around for her to transmutation. It was sharp, though she wasn't sure how easily it could slice through skin. She barely heard snow crunching to her side and the click of a gun cocking. There wasn't any time. She sliced some of her neck with the sharp metal, using her blood to draw a Transmutation Circle on her scarf. The scarf wrapped around the piece of metal, and the cloth lengthened, forming a makeshift whip.

The man aimed and Namori swung the whip, knocking the weapon out of his hands. She saw more snowy figures, and tried to use her whip effectively, but the thick clothing prevented harm, and the men didn't flinch as often as normal men should. She still struggled to keep the men away, but it wasn't enough. They soon had their guns trained on her. She dropped her whip and held her hands above her head. Edward was led over to her, and they exchanged scared smiles.

The snow cleared up and the three of the gasped as they found themselves facing an iron wall that stretched almost as high as the mountains. Was it always there? Namori didn't think the snow was so thick that it formed a curtain.

"Buccaneer!" A voice called from the wall. "Who are they?"

The man flinched and quickly faced the wall, his back straight. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there, General Armstrong! I apologize for the disturbance!"

Namori was confused. Wasn't the general a man? But the commanding figure was not a man, but a woman with long golden hair and eyes the color of ice and as cold as it too.

"Oliver Mira Armstrong! Major Armstrong's older sister."

Not a man.

"I'll ask again, who are you!" Her voice made it sound like a command, not a question.

"My name is Edward Elric. I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist. My brother, Alphonse Elric is here along with my Alchemy student Namori Anjyl. Major Armstrong sent us to meet with the general in charge of this post. Now can you call off your guard dogs?" If it wasn't for that last bit, Namori would've thought that the speech was very nice and respectful.

"Search them!"

"But I'm with the military!" Edward protested.

"Sure, but how can I prove that? Anyone can pretend they're somebody famous."

One of the men apologized as they patted down Namori. She squirmed a bit, and a part of her wanted to chop their fingers off.

"Hey, he's hollow!" one of the men said as he was inspecting Alphonse.

"He's _what_?" Namori said, looking over at the armored boy, her voice cracking as she spoke. Sure enough, his helmet was off, but there was no head in the armor. He was a living suit of armor.

"Ah, you noticed." Edward said, his voice flat and disinterested.

They searched through their luggage, Namori was glad that the man stopped searching before he reached her collection of underwear. Another man found a letter and brought it up to the icy general.

"That's a letter from Major Alex Louis Armstrong. Just read that, and you'll know you can trust us!"

"It's from Alex all right." She said and calmly ripped the letter to pieces.

"Aren't you even going to read it?" Namori couldn't help saying.

"A letter of introduction means nothing to me. I don't take stock in anyone else's opinions of a person. I prefer to judge the people I meet with my own eyes."

Namori wasn't sure if the figure above them was a woman. She looked like one, but her actions were male. If she was a woman, she was a wolf or a bear, ready to bite out someone's throat at a moment's notice. She walked inside the large black wall, leaving the white snow behind. Somehow, she found herself thinking of Kimblee in his white suit. Where was he now? The blood from her neck dripped down onto the snow.

* * *

Mia walked into the hospital room Kimblee was in. Her stomach was tumbling with emotion, though Mia wasn't sure which one it was. She was scared, scared for Kimblee and the blood he left behind on the railroad tracks. She was angry, angry at him for jumping and a bit angry for her not being able to go with him. Other emotions were there too, ones she couldn't name. She took a deep breath as she stood outside the door, trying to calm her emotions and lock them away. She opened the door.

Kimblee was always pale. His years in prison stole color from his skin. The pale skin he had now was different. It was weak, and she could see the veins on his temple, the blue shining through the translucent skin. The pale skin also highlighted the circles under his eyes. A heavy blanket was draped over his body, shielding the rest of his body from her, including the wound. Mia didn't know how long she stood there, staring at him, but eventually he stirred, opening his eyes slowly. He stared at the lights dangling above his head, his face blank. Eventually, he turned his head to the side and saw Mia. He smiled a bit. "Hello, miss Mia."

"You're in quite a bad shape." Mia said after a while.

Kimblee raised an eyebrow slowly, the movement slow, his body numbed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not the one in a hospital bed." Mia pulled up a chair near his head and sat down, crossing her legs at the ankles and grasping her hands in her lap. She was the image of politeness. That concerned Kimblee.

"What's the matter?" He asked, tone insistent.

"Nothing is the matter." She looked down at him. "You were injured badly, yes?" She slowly pulled down the blanket.

Kimblee's one hand formed into a tight fist, but he didn't fight her. "It's my left side." Mia looked down at him and pulled up the blue-gray gown. His side was wrapped with bandages, the white linen stained with red. "A pipe was thrown there." Kimblee said. Mia's head swam a bit, imagining the iron piercing his side, blood flying through the air and dotting the snow. Too much blood. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Of course I'm not fine!" Mia snapped, letting her emotions spill. "You got a fucking pipe in your gut and almost idied/i!"

Kimblee stared at her, eyes wide at her outburst.

Mia looked at him and sighed, face relaxing. "I'm sorry for that. I'm sure that my tone was too harsh for your condition. I must have hurt your ears. I'll try to be quiet."

Kimblee continued staring before finally commenting. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Mia. I do think I should've considered the consequences of my actions and not overestimate what my body can accomplish. It was foolish of me. Now, please let down that mask. It's quite impressive, but I prefer you as your normal self."

Mia looked at him, and she slowly started to smile. Other than being confined to a bed, his life being dripped in through a tube, he seemed normal. Polite as hell, but normal. "Fine, I'll act normal for you."

"I'm glad. Though I have to apologize for my situation."

"Again?"

"Yes, again. It's a terrible situation for your teacher to be in."

"And you don't have a substitute." Mia said, smirking a bit.

Kimblee chuckled a bit. The action drove a fist into his side, one that the morphine dripping into his system couldn't block, but he didn't care. The pain felt good, sending spasms up his spine. The pain was ecstasy for him.

"That's fine though." Mia commented, taking a piece of paper and quickly drawing a Transmutation Circle on it. "You don't need to teach me." She placed her hands on the circle forming a paper crane. She took his hand and placed the crane in it. "You only need to watch."

* * *

God, I've been neglecting posting this...but now it's up, so yay~


End file.
